Back At The Bar
by Torlek
Summary: Amara and Chuck continue to be family, in God's Bar of all places. Along the way, something about humanity is shared that will forever reshape their relationships with each other and with the rest of Creation. (AU follow-up to Season 11 Episodes 20 and 23)
1. Back At The Bar

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. For this story, I own only one original character.**

* * *

 **Back At The Bar**

Amara and Chuck find themselves seated at the Bar. Their family meeting had just ended, and it was a refreshing time for the two of them. Now, the very place God had constructed to hide from the Darkness became the place where the two of them could become confidantes once again.

The older sister read her younger brother's autobiographical manuscript. It still carried words from before their reconciliation, and she rolled her eyes upon reading some of them, but she shed a tear or two upon reading others.

"Your secretary did a very good job writing about your silence to prayers and about your elusion of divine intervention," Amara remarked.

"Thanks," Chuck smiled.

The two of them wished to exchange thoughts while being engaged in conversation, and thus many thoughts were exchanged. Among them was the conversation Chuck had with the late Metatron, the one who spurred him to divine intervention once more.

 _And the worst part? They do it in my name…_

 _I took responsibility… by leaving…_

 _Eh… It's her time to shine…_

 _But coward? I am not hiding. I am just done watching my experiments' failures…_

 _You all disappointed me…_

Upon the exchange of that thought, the two siblings shed tears, stood up, extended their arms, and grasped one another in a tight embrace. Truly, the Darkness thought, her younger sibling changed. God wanted the sense of family back between the two of them because of all the letdowns since that otherwise beautiful Creation, all of which had just been shared with her here, of all places. If there were any lingering doubts on the part of the older confidante, about wanting the sense of family back and about not wanting to go back to the way things were, then they were gone.


	2. Brainstorming

**Brainstorming**

"So what do you intend to do now?" asked Amara.

The Darkness empathized with all the irony. Though the very place God had constructed to hide from her had become the place where the two of them became confidantes again, this bar had also become a voluntary yet emotional cage away from his own Creation and all the letdowns. Though she no longer wanted to go back to the way things were, she could not help but think that her simple wish to just be family again with her brother would be over-fulfilled.

"Well, Sis, I was thinking about what I might have missed sharing with you during our family reunion," declared Chuck.

The older sister was caught by surprise at that. Their family meeting could not have been that ordinary, not when it involved teleporting across all manner of space and time since their family breakup, and not when it involved telepathic exchanges of thoughts along the way.

"Psych!" exclaimed the younger brother.

That was met only by sarcasm and a long pause in which the two of them sat down again.

"Seriously," he mused, "I don't know now. Maybe we should brainstorm?"

The confidante was puzzled by that proposal. Never before in their family relationship have the two of them brainstormed anything.

"I wasn't entirely joking," the confidant continued, "when I said it's your time to shine."

The older sister recalled the memory of her younger brother thinking about trapping himself in her cage, in exchange for her sparing all his Creation. She also recollected something wittier.

"Well, why should I give you another opportunity to exaggerate the number of times I told you what to do and, supposedly, to make you do what I want?" challenged Amara.

A pause ensued.

"I know you were impulsive with that comment, Brother, but I just wanted to prove a point before moving on," she continued.

God smiled.

"Let's brainstorm, indeed," the Darkness agreed.


	3. Board Games Across Dimensions

**Board Games Across Dimensions**

Not long after the brainstorming, Amara and Chuck found themselves enjoying a board game, still in the Bar. Once upon a time, the Darkness resented God for needing something else that was just not her. After all the letdowns since that otherwise beautiful Creation, he needed her as much as she needed him.

The board game in question was the older sister's suggestion. A couple of reasons came to mind: First, she had learned that her younger brother gave himself the ability to play the guitar and speak French, and so she gave herself not just the ability to play this game like a grandmaster or a highly-developed game engine, but the elusive ability to solve it and even its variants. Second, one of the game's pieces charmed her.

Also, this board game gave the two of them an opportunity to make it look like they were simply staring at the board and its pieces, while in fact they would play, across dimensions, multiple variants of the game simultaneously.

"Feel free to move first," Amara said. True to her colours, and as a courtesy to her sibling, she played exclusively with the black pieces across dimensions.

Movements later, the older sister saw what was in common between most of the various pieces of the variants of the game, on the one hand, and the more esoteric powers exhibited by her younger brother's Creation, on the other. Many pieces were good only for a combined smiting. Some pieces could have their moments strategically, as if they were Hands of God. Fewer pieces were like the archangels.

Amara made her next move in all the variants. It just so happened that the piece was the same across dimensions, the very one whose ability she could compare with her own power. With her self-granted ability to solve the game in its many variants played, it also turned out that this move would end them all.

"Checkmate," the Darkness declared, releasing her black queen.

Across dimensions, God chuckled and toppled his white king.


	4. Balance From The Draw

**Balance From The Draw**

"That was the most cosmic chess match anyone could ever have, Brother," remarked Amara.

In giving herself the elusive ability to solve the game and the variants played, the Darkness appreciated God's well-deserved reputation as a master strategist. Although her younger brother's strategy failed at the confrontation before their family meeting, she remembered their family meeting musings about his display of strategic mastery amongst his own Creation.

"But you went ahead and solved chess before the match, Sis," responded Chuck.

"Fine," said the older sister, "Let's have a rematch. You go ahead and solve chess, too. Two can play at that game."

"Speaking of rematch, Sis," suggested the younger brother, "Can we please play just this board and these pieces?"

Amara nodded, noting that the chess set in the Bar remained untouched during the cosmic chess match. Chuck then gave himself instantly the same ability to solve the game.

"Chess clocks or no?" asked the younger brother. The older sister shook her head.

The match to follow would become another match for the ages, albeit for different reasons than the previous one. This one would see, for the very first time, two solvers of the game playing against each other. Coming into this match, both players knew that there could be only one outcome. It did not matter, as the siblings wanted to play, anyway.

Unlike the previous match, the pieces on this board were being moved. At times, the older sister gently touched pieces on the board just to irk her younger brother, although she had intended to move those pieces all along. As pieces on both sides were being captured, they were levitated by both players in a playful but vain attempt to distract one another.

Enough time passed, and both chess solvers ultimately found themselves with insufficient pieces and positioning to checkmate one another.

"Yin and Yang, Brother," the Darkness, the predominantly dark Yin, concluded.

"Balance, Sis, balance," God, the predominantly light Yang, replied with a smile.


	5. Born Of The Darkness

**Born Of The Darkness**

Though Amara enjoyed thoroughly the chess matches she had with Chuck, she could not help but ponder more about the symbolism underlying them. After all, the Darkness knew that the very game itself represented the countless wars waged by humanity against itself since ancient times, including those waged in God's name.

A horrifying thought came to the older sister.

"Brother, despite our balance, am I somehow responsible, no matter how indirectly, for the wars represented by this game?" she popped the question.

The younger brother was caught off guard.

"Why are you asking this, Sis?" he inquired in return.

"I just remembered," Amara pondered, "a few details about our mutual trip across all manner of space and time. In your one-time favoritism, which you have since apologized for, my Mark was entrusted to… that celestial nephew, only to corrupt him. He, in turn, tempted the first humans, and from there…"

"Sis, none of that was your fault," Chuck interrupted, "in any way. Eating the forbidden fruit was way different from the first homicide, and that first homicide didn't lead to the great evil throughout humanity before the Flood. Besides, my wayward son became imprisoned himself before all the wars you mentioned."

That response did not placate the older sister, as she shed a tear and stood.

"What's the tear for?" the younger brother asked and stood in turn.

No response came, as the tear briefly turned into dark smoke before dissipating. Suddenly, Amara's irides darkened to become completely black. The visible blood vessels of her eyes darkened in the same manner and then looked as if they were bleeding. Her younger brother became terrified. The darkness coming out of the bleeding covered her sclerae. Now, the older sister's eyes were completely black.

"Why didn't you tell me that you created the humans in our image, not just yours?" Amara demanded. This revelation behind revelations, the real reason behind all the destruction caused by humanity since ancient times, shocked her into darkening her eyes the way she did just now.

"Um, Sis," Chuck prevaricated slowly, "that was a minor detail."

"Not to me," the Darkness rebutted, "In a way, humans are as much my children as they are yours!"

"Isn't that the point?" God asked, still terrified.


	6. Barbs Over The Image

**Barbs Over The Image**

Amara and Chuck stared at each other. Although far from irate to the point of seeking revenge, the Darkness was visibly upset, and any created being would have mistaken her anger for a vengeful one. For his own part, God remained terrified.

Now, the secret behind the creation and evolution of humanity had become an open rift between the two primordial entities: Not from his own image alone did the Creator bring forth all men and all women, but from the dual image of his older sister and himself. Upon hearing that the Mark's corruption did not feed the great evil throughout humanity before the Flood, the Destroyer concluded that only by being created in this dual image could humanity be capable of failing and disappointing her younger brother the way they did.

"What can I say about my being an involuntary donor, as the humans would put it?" Amara barbed, "Just what can I say about the absence of my consent?"

"It is said among them," she emphasized, "that if you play with fire, you get burned." The look of seriousness on her countenance did not fade.

"You, Brother," she spat, "played with uncontrolled darkness, and our children have grieved you and experienced things worse than pain and sorrow, all because of that!"

"Speaking of such things," she refreshed her memory grimly, "let me share with you some tragic documentaries that I watched when my human form grew up!"

With a gesture, the older sister turned on a few television screens throughout the Bar. The younger brother was made to watch a grim documentary on the Mongol conquests on one screen, a grim documentary on colonial atrocities on a second screen, an underrated documentary on the Armenian genocide on a third screen. He also watched an underrated documentary on real world wars on a fourth screen, a highly acclaimed documentary on the Holocaust on a fifth screen, a more conventional documentary on the history of miscellaneous war crimes – and their prosecution – on a sixth screen, and another documentary on the Cambodian killing fields on a seventh screen. On an eighth screen was shown an insightful documentary on the history of suicidal mass murders, including suicide bombings.

After all the documentaries were over, it became all too clear for both parties that the Darkness was not done chewing God out.


	7. Black Holes Of Creation

**Black Holes Of Creation**

All the human insights from the grim documentaries had animated Amara as she continued to confront Chuck. The Darkness gave away the look of desiring to prosecute God and much more, in some court.

"Brother, how plead you to all this, plus playing to the sympathies of your older, stronger sister?" she scoffed, reminding him of all her power and referring to herself in the third person.

"Sis," her younger brother said in a low voice, "Please don't try to be my prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner. Remember what I said about free will being in the kit? Well, that free will, which you've come to appreciate, would be incomplete without coming from our image."

"Defendant, what about your beloved sons?" Amara shot back, "You created them, their free will, and their ability to destroy, without using my likeness along the way."

"Your honour," Chuck declared mockingly, "I created them as they were, out of my youthful enthusiasm for creating for the sake of creating."

"Right," the older sister belittled, "You created them with a very immediate aim of something other than locking other beings away? Right!"

"I did say 'as they were' to refer to their free will, specifically," clarified the younger brother, "There's a reason why I asked even these immediate sons of mine to love…"

There was a brief pause.

"Our children," he continued, "more than me."

Then, the two of them exchanged all their thoughts as confidantes once again, despite their argument. Amara demanded nothing less than full disclosure and obtained it. In the process, she was not surprised upon learning three black holes underpinning the creation of humanity: that the dual image was an earnest attempt by Chuck at representing the balance his sons could never have, that he intentionally let even his sons believe that "Our Image" referred only to him and them, and that he never mentioned the intended balance to anyone.

Satisfied, the eyes of the Darkness looked human once more, while God felt relief.


	8. Beyond The Being Death

**Beyond The Being Death**

Amara gathered her thoughts before Chuck. During the family journey and exchange of thoughts across all manner of space and time, the Darkness stepped out of her comfort zone and learned from God how to create. Not long after, the former appreciated the latter's stories of stepping out of his own comfort zone and destroying things when necessary.

"I now appreciate what you are challenging me to do, Brother," the older sister remarked.

"Sis," her younger brother replied, "I know you bluffed to Dean when you said you had planned to recreate the omniverse into something more perfect than my creation, but I am by no means threatened or fearful of that prospect."

"I don't know where to begin, though," Amara despaired. Upon hearing that, a flood of ideas came to her confidant's thinking.

"Well, you didn't know who Death was as a being until I told you about him during our family meeting. That winged being may have exaggerated his self-importance when he believed and said he could be older than, and reap, yours truly, but he was just as powerful as the combined but uneven supernatural powers of my immediate sons," Chuck suggested. "Someone has to fill his shoes and maintain his vision of a natural order."

The two siblings stared at each other.

"Not you, of course," the younger brother continued.

"But," Amara responded, "Didn't you say, not too long ago, that primordial creation took you so much time? Didn't you say that the stuff of primordial creation became rare once you created this omniverse?"

"Primordial creation took me so much time, from the perspective of what I created, because I did it alone," Chuck elaborated, "All my stuff for primordial creation became rare because I didn't touch the primordial basis of dark matter. Now that we're family again, I can really slow down time from within this Bar…"

"And the primordial basis of dark matter is so abundant, at least a score times greater than all your stuff for primordial creation at their peak," the Darkness concluded, "I can use small portion of the former, equal to all of the latter, in order to create a Lesser Darkness or Dark Herald."

"Exactly," God agreed.


	9. Becoming Death

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. For this story, I own only one original character: Sefira.**

* * *

 **Becoming Death**

Amara and Chuck went to work in the Bar. Taking her true form of a dark cloud, the Darkness used the affinity between the abundant primordial basis of dark matter and her essence to summon a small portion of that to her. Meanwhile, God, taking his true form of divine light, manipulated time across all Creation to almost, just almost, a standstill. Once the two primordial entities finish with this work, they will have done so in less than an hour of normal time.

From her true form, the older sister said, "Let there be a Lesser Darkness, a Dark Herald."

As the intensive work progressed, the Destroyer gave form, power, and insight to what was becoming a new being. So great was the power received that what was becoming a new, wingless being could be neither banished nor bound, and held more power than four or more times the firstborn son of her younger brother. So great was the resilience of its life force that part of it had to be dispersed from the onset into the very fabric of the primordial basis of dark matter. The Creator was impressed at this, what could have been a primordial creation but was far greater than such. The insight provided was of similar magnitude.

Once all that power and insight was received, the form that emerged truly was a Lesser Darkness, a dark cloud like its creator. The greater dark cloud and the divine light then assumed human form, so that the lesser dark cloud could mimic that and assume a human form of its own. Not long after, it imitated its creator and assumed the form of an adult woman.

"Mother… Uncle…" said this adult woman.

"My creation is good," Amara smiled.

"Like you said to me, what you've made is beautiful," Chuck added, releasing his hold on all of time so that it could resume its normal speed.

Amara smiled, then turned to her daughter and asked, "Have you decided upon a name for your physical form?"

"Sefira," answered the daughter, "For I am a wise emanation."

"Very well, Sefira," concluded the Darkness, "Henceforth your purpose is to enforce the Natural Order. You have become Death."

As her daughter nodded, God declared, "It is good."


	10. Bequest Of Instruments

**Bequest Of Instruments**

Amara, with Chuck beside her, was not finished with Sefira. The Darkness informed God telepathically that she wanted to imbue nothing less than the best into her Lesser Darkness, her Dark Herald, made from a small portion of the abundant primordial basis of dark matter.

The older sister recalled her celestial nephew's feeble attempt to harm her by using what her younger brother had confirmed to be a Hand of God.

"Not too long ago," she began, "a celestial nephew of mine had the hubris to think he could harm me with a Hand of God."

The younger brother, knowing where this was going, prepared to suggest a handful of Tablets instead.

"Sis, may I suggest you create something like…" he began.

"No, Brother," the older sister interrupted, "far better."

The two siblings exchanged thoughts briefly, including the contents of the Tablets in question.

"That guardian angel of Dean's," Amara reflected, "was once able to obliterate an immediate son of yours instantly, and was once capable of eliminating an entire spiritual realm."

Chuck expressed shock, for he did not expect her to be inspired by that unfortunate episode. The Destroyer then focused on him.

"All that power was possible," the older sister continued, "because of a topic you and I will have a nice, long chat about after my daughter departs from here."

The younger brother gulped, as the elder sibling returned her attention towards the new creation.

"Behold Sefira," Amara declared. She raised her hand in the direction of her daughter, and then jewelry appeared on Sefira, to the latter's amazement. The daughter beheld an amulet necklace, an arm ring on each upper arm, and a ring on each ring finger.

"Each piece is an Instrument of the Darkness," she explained, "Like you innately, each piece can obliterate any immediate cousin of yours in an instant, or any spiritual realm, before requiring a protracted recharge. Each piece is designed to be used by you alone. On top of that, each piece may be recharged instantaneously by me or by drawing upon the abundant primordial basis of dark matter. Use, recharge, and reuse the Instruments wisely."

"Thank you, Mother," the Lesser Darkness expressed gratitude to her mother.

The Darkness declared, "This is good."

God remained in shock at the sight of far more powerful instruments than either his Hands of God or his Tablets.


	11. Bottomless Pit

**Bottomless Pit**

"You are hereby dismissed. Go to your servants and introduce yourself to them," Amara enjoined her daughter.

The Darkness was amazed at all that she had created thus far, and at how fast she had created them, all because she had God as family once more. The Lesser Darkness, the Dark Herald, with all her innate power, with all her innate insight, and with all Instruments of the Darkness at her disposal, was teleported out of the Bar.

With the new creation no longer in their presence, Chuck could speak a piece of his mind.

"Sis," he began, "I can explain Castiel the one-time 'Lord' and also the Leviathans and Purgatory."

"Please do," the older sister retorted, "We may have forgiven each other, and you may have made some amends with that celestial nephew, but those beings were another instance of you being lock-happy."

"Amara, the creation of those monsters was not an early attempt at balance," the younger brother explained, "Simply put: I just screwed up."

"Like you did with those who became pagan deities? Like you did with monsters of various kinds? When I said that what you've made is beautiful," Amara responded, "I most certainly did not have those monstrous beings in mind."

"I know," Chuck admitted, before the two of them exchanged all their thoughts.

"If you really, really have to lock your monsters away," the older sister broke the silence, "then there are better realms than Purgatory. For the humans' sake, their vision of that place and yours do not jive. Where's the purification?"

"Any ideas?" her younger brother asked.

"What about the Bottomless Pit from human mythology?" she offered.

"Forming such a place, filled with darkness greater than Hell, would suit your hands more than mine," the younger brother cautioned.

The two siblings then went to work again, with the older sister summoning to herself another portion of the abundant primordial basis of dark matter, and with the younger brother manipulating time across all Creation to almost another standstill. Thus, the Bottomless Pit was formed.

"I did my part," the Darkness conveyed, "You do yours, and transfer all the monsters in Purgatory to the Bottomless Pit."

"Done," God acknowledged, and with a snap of his finger, transferred them all.


	12. Brooding Over Pagan Deities

**Brooding Over Pagan Deities**

"Now, Brother," Amara needled, "about those billions who became pagan deities…"

"What about them?" Chuck reacted, "Like you said, those who are still around are not exactly human-friendly beings."

"Are they so much like that one-time 'Lord' or what?" the Darkness nagged.

"You mean the fact that they got their power from unfortunate souls? Gee, Sis, who else do they remind us of?" God sassed.

"They, when they boosted their power, didn't absorb other beings' traits and memories, did they?" the elder sibling riposted, with a clear lack of amusement towards that jab at her.

"That said," Amara continued, "with billions of those beings around, I'm surprised they didn't feed on our children en masse after the latter stopped soothing the former's egos."

Her younger brother noted her emphasis of that one word at the end, a jab at him.

"I may have an idea," Chuck proposed, "A number of those pantheons include, outright, some sort of chaos deity who preceded the main deities. This setup is kinda like you and me, with their families, mythologies of primordial wars, and all."

"And like us, Brother, those mythologies don't mention any vengeful return of the chaos deities," the older sister mentioned with a playful voice.

"One difference, Sis," her younger brother added, "The main deities didn't try reasoning with their elders, and some of the latter thought of killing the former as mere infants."

The two siblings smiled heavily at each other, knowing that they themselves were fortunate not to have been in those ugly situations.

"Anyways," Chuck continued, "Perhaps Sefira can pose as every chaos deity and wipe the slate clean with just one attempt, no emotional strings attached."

Amara made it clear that she liked that idea. Although her daughter was not of nothingness, she was still of the primordial basis of dark matter, something that was absent from the pagan mythologies. By those standards, it was nothingness enough. Her daughter was the Lesser Darkness, after all.

"And then," the Darkness expressed sinisterly, "the other pantheons can witness the utter destruction of their pagan multiverse, before they themselves are swept away."

The Lesser Darkness was then enjoined telepathically.

God appreciated the irony behind that familiar declaration, knowing the certainty of the righteous destruction to be waged on behalf of his and her children, humanity.


	13. Bargaining Over Fates

**Bargaining Over Fates**

While Amara briefed her daughter telepathically, Chuck became aware of an oversight in their conversation. Once the Darkness finished with the briefing, she saw God struggling not to panic.

"Brother, what's the problem?" she urged him to talk.

"Not every pagan pantheon or realm should be destroyed, Sis," her divine companion suspired.

"I know," she uttered to his surprise, "and Sefira just did a splendid job being a devil's advocate for each pagan pantheon and realm that has at least one being who has abstained from the abomination of demanding or absorbing human sacrifices as a means of obtaining greater power. She even challenged my very character in order to plead her case."

The look of surprise on the younger brother's face intensified. He recalled two ancient mortals who had challenged him like this, but those challenges were over two places only and over much fewer people by contemporary standards. Although the angels were still deployed for mass smiting after the first challenge, he never expected his very own niece to replicate and escalate those challenges over a greater number of realms and beings.

"Speaking of beings who have abstained from this abomination," he mentioned, "three of them from classical Greek lore are even under the regular employ of Heaven itself."

The Destroyer raised an eyebrow in response.

"Clotho, Lachesis, and, most notoriously, Atropos," the Creator listed the three, "were three ladies perceived by the classical Greeks to be the deities overseeing the pre-afterlife fates and destinies of all mortals, but some golden carrots on my part convinced them to renounce their insulated pantheon and even go beyond the idea of being Heaven's mercenaries."

"You know," cooed the confidante, "I wonder if those golden carrots involved guilty pleasures which should make you blush, were you ever to be confronted, even mildly, about them."

It did not take long before the confidant blushed.

"Just as I thought, womanizer," teased his divine companion, before silence and further contemplation ensued.

"Now that a more powerful being like Sefira is around to maintain Death's vision of a natural order, shouldn't these former flings of yours work more closely with her and, you know, be under her employ instead of Heaven's?" the Darkness broke the silence.

God, without hesitation, consented to this transfer of authority, and then the Lesser Darkness was enjoined telepathically once again.


	14. Broaching Archangelic Subjects

**Disclaimer:** **This AU follow-up** **to Season 11 Episodes 20 and 23 continues a bit into the following season, up until a month or two later in the show, the end of "Rock Never Dies" (Episode 7). The next few chapters have been set to occur at the same time as that Season 12 episode.**

* * *

 **Broaching Archangelic Subjects**

Amara was pleased by all that she and Chuck had done within the intimate space of the Bar. Twice, the Darkness created powerful things, and twice God slowed time down for her. However, a look of disappointment from the younger brother did not escape the attention of the older sister.

"I know that look, Brother. You're not disappointed about Sefira's mission, are you?" she asked.

"Not at all, Sis," her younger brother replied, "I was reflecting upon our creative roles and teamwork."

The two siblings exchanged their thoughts telepathically. There were very good reasons why Chuck was very much content with his role in slowing down time, while Amara did creation of her own.

"When I prepared for our confrontation, I was truthful in saying to the others that I couldn't reunify all my sons in time," he continued, "But now, with our creative roles and teamwork in this very Bar, do I want to?"

"You're still disappointed in them, aren't you?" Amara concluded, "I mean, you had none of your own sons in mind for filling Death's shoes."

"Should I have?" Chuck retorted quietly.

"You did apologize to your one-time favourite son, you know," the older sister noted softly.

"Indeed," the younger brother answered, "However, that apology and fighting a seemingly common threat together is different from going all the way to entrusting someone with all the powers of at least four Michaels and five more on top of them. All those four just have too much bad history to qualify."

"Although you exchanged similar thoughts with me when you first invited me here, those thoughts focused on the humans and the regular angels, leaving your own sons as an afterthought," Amara stated.

Chuck knew she was all too prepared for a long-winded diatribe on this, and so did not bother to attempt to change the subject even subtly.

"I'm all ears for your diatribe and ready when you are, Brother," the Darkness gave her assurance.

"Alright, Sis," God sighed, "Let's see where this goes."


	15. Broaching Archangelic Subjects: Gabriel

**Broaching Archangelic Subjects: Gabriel**

Amara prepared herself for Chuck's long-winded diatribe on his own sons, her own celestial nephews. The Darkness welcomed God's pending expressions of disappointment, but with sympathy.

"One son at a time, Brother," the older sister cautioned.

"In which order?" the younger brother asked.

"It's your call," the elder sibling responded.

"Alright," Chuck sighed. A short pause ensued.

"Well, starting with Gabriel: What can I say? To start off light, he never got around to playing with the horn I gave him. He became a trickster, learning all the tools of that trade from my favourite son," he began.

"When I asked him to love the humans more than me, he merely bowed down to them. He couldn't choose sides when Heaven's chips were down between the big boys," he remembered.

"He fled to Earth, but the least he could have done was pull off a Prometheus," he remarked.

 _That Prometheus?_

 _Yes, that benevolent pagan deity who finally died only a few years ago, and is thus spared from Sefira._

"I wouldn't have been bothered if he'd given humans lots of knowledge, other than that from the forbidden fruit. He did ultimately hold our children in high regard," he expressed.

"Instead," he continued, "he lived amongst the pagan deities and pretended to be one of them!"

"Just imagine, Sis," he exclaimed, "If I resurrected him while you slowed time down, the first thing he'd do is head straight for his former fellows and warn them about Sefira! He'd pull off a coup in their midst in a vainglorious attempt to stop the Lesser Darkness, just like Lucifer did in Heaven in his vainglorious attempt to lock you away again!"

Amara broke her silence.

"What were among his last words?" she inquired.

Chuck quoted in response, "These were to Lucifer about our children – 'Damn right they're flawed. But a lot of them try. To do better, to forgive. And you should see the Spearmint Rhino! I've been riding the pine a long time. But I'm in the game now, and I'm not on your side, or Michael's. I'm on theirs.'"

The Darkness shed what would remain a human tear, while God refrained from shedding one himself.


	16. Broaching Archangelic Subjects: Raphael

**Broaching Archangelic Subjects: Raphael**

Amara calmed herself down, as Chuck was only getting started on his long-winded diatribe about his own sons, her own celestial nephews. The Darkness waited for God to continue.

"Continuing with Raphael: When I asked him to love the humans more than me, he merely bowed down to them. At least he chose a side, the right side, when Heaven's chips were down between the big boys," he began.

"When I left Heaven, first he lost his faith in me and tired of his duties," he remembered, "Then, he jumped to the weird conclusion that I was dead, that everyone continued to exist without me. Somehow, he totally forgot about your condition. Look what happened to our confrontation!"

 _That is not the subject of your diatribe, Brother._

"Forgive my digression," he continued, "Anyway, he was never able to love the humans more than me. His mercies were limited to the angels. Even then, he was very traditional in his dealings with them. You know: hierarchy, salutes, and all that stuff."

"Politically," he remarked, "he supported Michael's Apocalyptic plans for shoving the angels' view of paradise on this world. He was Michael's right-hand man through and through. When the Apocalypse was averted, he tried but failed to free the big boys so that they could try again."

 _Pathetic cataclysm for one mere world at best! Amateurs!_

"Oh," he recalled, "and he tried to become 'Lord' the same way Castiel did, by absorbing the spirits of the many monsters in Purgatory. He got his comeuppance, courtesy of that one-time 'Lord' snapping him out of existence."

Amara broke her silence.

"What were among his last words?" she asked.

Chuck quoted in response, "These were to Castiel about his ambitions – 'You'll kneel before me and pledge allegiance to the flag, all right? Me Castiel. Allegiance to me.'"

The Darkness was not impressed, and neither was God.


	17. Broaching Archangelic Subjects: Lucifer

**Broaching Archangelic Subjects: Lucifer**

Amara readied herself, as Chuck moved on to the next part of with his long-winded diatribe about his own sons, her own celestial nephews. For this part, the Darkness and God exchanged thoughts telepathically first, to recollect the relevant parts of what they informed each other from the family meeting onwards.

"What more can I say about Lucifer?" Chuck asked, "Oh yes, if he had known about our children's dual image, and especially about the intended balance behind it that he and his brothers could never have, he would've doubled down with his refusal to love our children more than me! Worse, he could've convinced all his brothers to try to give me the boot!"

 _You still played with fire, Brother._

"A little piece of advice, Sis," he digressed, "Don't tell Sefira about humanity being created in the dual image of you and I."

"I already gave her that knowledge," the older sister satisfied her urge to reply, "when I created her. Unlike you and your sons, we have the maturity and mutual respect to deal with our children's dual image: she for accepting her being the Lesser Darkness, she for accepting the enforcing the Natural Order without emotional exceptions, we for accepting the intended balance that she could never have, and I for promising telepathically not to direct her to love our children more than me."

The younger brother was caught off guard by the transparency.

"That said," Amara remarked, "What more about your one-time favourite son?"

"Well," Chuck replied, "as you know from our family meeting, he wanted to destroy humanity through the Apocalypse. He even managed to coerce Death supernaturally to help fulfill his plans. Thankfully, Sefira…"

 _Can't be banished or bound, except by you or me. Carry on._

"He had other interesting characters," he continued, "You saw the three other horsemen of mass destruction. Meanwhile, his Whore of Babylon could entice humans to murder in my name, and his would-be Antichrist was said to have the power to destroy, with a word, all those who would try to smite you."

Amara broke her silence.

"The horsemen were amateurs. The whore, given what we've discussed, was redundant. The would-be Antichrist wouldn't be anywhere near half-interesting without that power," the Darkness expressed judgment.

God did not feel like quoting his wayward son, and so prepared for the last part of his long-winded diatribe.


	18. Broaching Archangelic Subjects: Michael

**Broaching Archangelic Subjects: Michael**

Amara was glad that Chuck was almost finished with his long-winded diatribe about his own sons, her own celestial nephews: only one more to go. The Darkness was eager to listen to God.

"And now, ma'am, the very first yes-man in all my Creation: Michael," Chuck introduced sarcastically. The older sister adjusted to the tone coming from him.

"Papa's Boy," her younger brother sassed, "had no understanding of free will whatsoever, not even for himself. It's all a perfect plan by me, you see. Nay, make that an absolutely perfect plan within a supremely perfect plan!"

 _So perfect that I should've been locked away for all eternity, right?_

"Then again," he stopped himself, "he wasn't made in our dual image, and so he merely bowed down to the humans when I asked him to love the humans more than me. Free will and the dual image will turn him into a much worse mental case than he is now, were he to find out about the latter."

"When I left Heaven," he remarked, "he became Heaven's strongman, ruling with a fist so strong that an iron fist would be a toddler's toy in comparison! Why, dear Sister, did he never go that extra step of declaring himself the new 'Lord' of all? His never-ending but blind loyalty to me did the trick. Surprise, surprise!"

"While he never really hated the humans," he remembered, "here was the very brainchild of some very Apocalyptic plans for shoving the angels' view of paradise on this world, regardless of how much of the latter would be destroyed. He was so sure of himself, of his oh-so-inevitable victory over Lucifer."

 _Your sarcasm meter has really shot up with this guy._

"And the worst part?" he continued, "The Apocalypse has to be the absolute will of God, you see! He rejected free will so much that he couldn't take Lucifer up on his offer to have both of them walk off the chessboard!"

"Now, he's caged," he cautioned, "yet if he and Lucifer were to switch Apocalyptic roles, the world would be worse off for it, to put it very mildly."

"Thus spake the Lord," he sighed.

The Darkness appreciated her younger brother's long-winded diatribe, while God was emotionally exhausted.


	19. Braving The Truth

**Braving The Truth**

Amara prepared her response to Chuck's long-winded diatribe. The Darkness gathered her thoughts about what was said, combing through the fine details before engaging with God once again.

"To start off, Brother," the older sister responded, "you still owe it to your sons to reunify and repair them now. You still owe it to your sons to tell them now the woefully belated truth that all men and all women were made in the dual image of you and me. You still owe it to your sons to let them know now of the intended balance underpinning the dual image. You still owe it to your sons to let them know now that it's impossible for them to have this balance. You still owe it to your sons to apologize now for withholding all this knowledge from them."

"Sis, didn't you just hear all of what I just said?" the younger brother snapped.

"Yes, and so much more," Amara answered, "So what, if awareness of the points I just mentioned causes Michael to have a serious re-think about free will, walk off the chessboard, and be like an independent man who leaves his parents' house after enough time growing up?"

"So what," she continued, "if awareness of the points I just mentioned causes Lucifer to now think that humans are worse than abortions and cockroaches?"

"So what," she carried on her line of questioning, "if awareness of the points I just mentioned causes Raphael to compete with his brothers in trying to become the new 'Lord' of all?"

"So what," she finished her line of questioning, "if awareness of the points I just mentioned causes Gabriel to run away again, perhaps to his former fellows once more?"

"If, at best," she suggested, "they assert their independence from you and walk off the chessboard, they'll simply follow in your own footsteps when you removed yourself from the chessboard long ago."

"If, at worst," the Darkness concluded, "they try to raise arms against you, humanity, or both, then well, your niece and I will be with you every way we can. Just let me know when you're ready to reunify and repair your sons, so that I may recall her and slow all of time down."

"This had better be worth it," God answered.


	20. Bellicose Guests

**Bellicose Guests**

Amara was informed by Chuck that she could recall Sefira at anytime. The Darkness understood that the intimate space of the Bar was the common but secret space for God and herself only. The Lesser Darkness, the Dark Herald, respected their privacy by making no attempts to discern its location, and by allowing herself to be teleported into, and out of, the Bar whenever she was being summoned or dismissed, respectively.

The older sister reached out to her daughter telepathically, and then summoned her.

"Mother, Uncle," Sefira addressed her hosts, "I just finished introducing myself to the Reapers."

"Your uncle here," shared the mother, "is about to reunify and repair your bellicose and dysfunctional cousins, and then tell them nothing but the whole truth behind humanity's creation."

"Dysfunctional?" asked her daughter, "Here I am, mightier than they just as you are mightier than G–"

"Don't let all that power get to you, kid," the uncle interrupted.

"Sorry, Uncle," Sefira apologized, "Mother, how those who aided and abetted your being locked away have now fallen!"

With Chuck nodding, Amara and her daughter exchanged thoughts telepathically, thoughts concerning what was disclosed about the four sons.

With her detailed knowledge of that terrible war, Sefira expected herself to distract the four individuals from attempting to fight or trick maliciously her mother. Expecting this, she transitioned to a bellicosity of her own.

"Given what we've just discussed," the mother broke the silence, "do extend your protection from them to your uncle here."

Her daughter did not expect to be told to defend her uncle, as well, from a similar reprisal by his own sons. Nonetheless, she nodded. Although she knew that Uncle Chuck was more than capable of protecting himself from those wayward cousins of hers, she knew that her services were far more than a goodwill gesture of sibling reconciliation. Chuck then indicated his full readiness to Amara.

The Darkness took to her true form of a dark cloud and proceeded to manipulate time across all Creation to almost, just almost, a standstill. The Lesser Darkness remained in her human form, observing.

For his part, God took to his true form of divine light, readying himself to reunify and repair all four of his sons.


	21. Band Of Brothers

**Disclaimer: This AU follow-up** **to Season 11 Episodes 20 and 23 continues a bit into Season 12, up until** **a month or two later in the show,** **the end of "Rock Never Dies" (Episode 7). The real AU begins here.**

* * *

 **Band Of Brothers**

Amara and Chuck went to work once more in the Bar. While slowing time across all Creation to almost a standstill, the Darkness observed God at his creative work.

In front of them, two forms were taking shape, while two others were in a deep slumber. The Destroyer remembered, as if it were yesterday, the first time these four beings were created, when she observed the first two forms continue to take shape. She also observed the Creator repairing the two which were in a deep slumber.

In the Bar, only one being remained in human form, over at the lounge. To her own surprise, the Lesser Darkness was in awe of the creative work that she was observing first-hand. When the work was just about done, she saw that the four beings remained unconscious. She then saw the divine light assume human form once again, but became surprised upon seeing that the dark cloud remained in its true form.

"Uncle Chuck," Sefira broke the silence from over at the lounge, "what about Mother?"

"She agreed to my surprise for all four sons," Chuck replied, "She's remaining in her true form so that she can have a much more inconspicuous presence in this Bar until then."

As the dark cloud made her presence less obvious, the two beings in human form exchanged thoughts telepathically.

Then, Chuck called out to his sons, "Rise and shine, boys!"

Thus, Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel gained consciousness and opened their eyes, reunified and repaired once more.

"Father!" exclaimed Michael.

"Daddy," declared Lucifer, with sarcasm.

"God," greeted Raphael, "in Prophet Chuck Shurley's body?"

"Dad?" asked Gabriel.

"Yes, sons," answered their father, "together again. Oh, and I pretended to be the prophet all along."

While Raphael was flabbergasted, Lucifer looked over his shoulders and around the Bar, and then noticed a terribly familiar-looking adult woman over at the lounge.

"One big happy family together again, eh Daddy?" asked Lucifer, again with sarcasm.

"So much so, that we even have Auntie Amara with us!"

The terribly familiar-looking adult woman looked stunned.

"Auntie Amara?" asked Gabriel, "Who's she?"

Lucifer replied to his younger brother, "The Darkness."

If the Darkness could chuckle over their shock while in her true form, she would, while God remained silent.


	22. But Whose Image?

**But Whose Image?**

Somewhere in the Bar, the real Amara smiled, while Chuck maintained his composure. The Darkness was beholding the moment of truth, while God was on the spot for it.

The Lesser Darkness should have known better before agreeing to Chuck's surprise for his sons. Upon her creation, she picked the same adult female form as her mother, but without a mark on her chest. Now, she played along.

"Lucifer," Sefira greeted, "I'm flattered."

The four brothers readied themselves for combat, only for their father to interrupt them.

"Stop!" he exclaimed, "Sons!"

The four brothers stood down immediately.

"Sons," Chuck welcomed in a lower voice, "we're together again because I have some secret truths to share with you."

"Or more likely one apology after another," Lucifer quipped. Turning to his brothers, he continued, "Hey, bros, Daddy apologized in person for entrusting the Mark to his favourite son in the first place!"

The other brothers rolled their eyes at that statement.

"Yes, I did apologize to you, Lucifer," their father confirmed, "Yes, you were my favourite son when I entrusted you the Mark, and my choice turned out to be wrong."

"And you are right," he conceded, "with these secret truths come apologies."

"Such as one for why you deserted us?" snapped Raphael.

A pause ensued.

"More fundamental than that: Let's flip back the page," the Creator recollected, "To the creation of humanity."

"Oh yes, Pops," Lucifer pouted, "and your obsessive-compulsive love for mankind?"

"I was being obsessive-compulsive, yes," Chuck admitted, "but not in love for mankind. Remember when I said, 'Let us make man in our image'?"

His four sons recalled.

"Whose image did you have in mind?" he challenged.

"Yours and ours," his four sons responded in unison.

"Wrong!" he declared.

"But yours and whose?" his four sons inquired, in unison. They then turned their gaze to the one whom they thought was their aunt.

"Don't look at me," the Lesser Darkness told them truthfully, raising her hands in innocence. Soon, she could drop her charade.

Suddenly, a dark cloud spread throughout the ceiling of the Bar. The place darkened, and the four sons were terrified and returned their gaze to their father. Then, part of the dark cloud descended beside Chuck to assume human form, before the rest of the dark cloud gathered to her.

"His and mine," answered the Darkness.

"Our image," God affirmed.


	23. Broken Pride

**Broken Pride**

Amara stood beside Chuck, before the four sons. The Darkness had assumed her usual adult female form, but with a distinctively less cosmetic, more natural appearance, and this surprised even God. While the other sons absorbed the revelation slowly, Lucifer felt the urge to comment astutely, however briefly, before continuing with the revelation.

"Hi, Auntie Amara," the one-time favourite son greeted, "You've certainly gone quite the au naturel route, with straighter hair and a lot less makeup than when last we met."

"Dear nephew," the aunt reciprocated, "Nice to see in person, at last, you grinding your axe with God like you said."

"And what about your doppelganger over there?" the son inquired.

"Long story," Chuck ended the digression, "Anyways, all men and all women were created in the image of both of us."

"Why, Father?" implored the ever-obedient eldest son, Michael.

"Son," the father replied, "when I created you and your brothers, all of you could not have been anything but beings of light, despite your later shortcomings."

"That includes you, Lucifer," he pointed out.

"After the Leviathans were locked away," he narrated, "I had an image in my mind, which I wanted to realize as a tribute to my almost-fallen sister, despite our terrible war. This was to represent the fundamental balance underpinning all of Creation. As I mentioned earlier, you are beings of light, but because of this, you are incompatible with this balance. I'm so sorry for this, and I apologize for not being upfront with you about all this."

All four sons reacted with grief.

"Tell me, God," a stern Raphael queried formally, "Have you apologized to the Darkness here for using her likeness without her permission?"

"Yes, God has," Amara interjected with a terrifying look, "And you have no idea just how much I chewed him out for this involuntary donor-assisted creation of our children."

"Let me guess," a presumptive Gabriel suggested, "It's because of Aunt here that we of all beings are hearing these apologies together in wherever this place is."

The Darkness nodded.

"Correct," God answered, "Furthermore, I apologize for having told you to love those same children of ours more than me."


	24. Belated Doubling Down

**Belated Doubling Down**

Amara approved of the apologies that Chuck had made so far. After that one particular apology, though, both the Darkness and God expected Lucifer to capitalize on it. The one-time favourite son wasted no time with his father.

"Well, well, well," Lucifer started, "your obsessive-compulsive love for the balance of light and dark throughout Creation has led to billions of these abortion-worthy caricatures of that balance and their mess: the great evil throughout humanity before the Flood…"

The eldest entity in the room expressed disappointment, having just been reminded, however inadvertently, of how she herself found out about all this.

"Did I hit a nerve, Auntie?" mocked the accuser, noticing the expression.

Amara and Chuck then indicated clearly to everyone that they were controlling their mutual temper towards that question.

"Anyway, where was I?" the one-time favourite son resumed, "Oh yes, Daddy: that, the death and destruction under the Mongol conquests, the colonial atrocities, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the killing fields, and enough of others for my then-caged – repeat, caged – self to lose count!"

"Sorry, Daddy," he continued, "but this time your apologies aren't enough. I should've doubled down on my Big No, and if I had known about these little secrets behind that… balance-forsaken… command of yours, I would have. Hell, I'll double down on that right now, just to catch up!"

"Son, I apologized for that event," Chuck answered, "Because I should have known that all of you could only, at best, bow down before humanity. You are, after all, who you are: beings of light."

Angrily, Lucifer turned his attention to his aunt.

"Hey, Auntie," he questioned, "How come your doppelganger over there looks so nonchalant over all this?"

"It's none of my business," the Lesser Darkness snapped.

"Actually, dear nephew, it's not yet your concern," the Darkness added with an expression of sadness.

God had one more apology to offer his four sons.


	25. Bypassed Sons

**Bypassed Sons**

Amara awaited Chuck's final apology. The Darkness anticipated that the final apology from God to his four sons would impact three of them more than Lucifer. Already the eldest son was affected, as he made no attempt at all to put the blatantly wayward son in his place.

"I have one more apology to offer you," Chuck declared, "Because you are beings of light, you're not compatible with a recently deceased fellow's vision of a natural order."

"Surely Death cannot be deceased?" asked Raphael, with all his primordial knowledge.

"Those Winchesters can do almost anything, can't they?" Lucifer snapped, "I betcha we have them to thank for this very unexpected family reunion!"

"You have no idea," interjected Amara. The four sons were startled at that cryptic remark.

"Anyway," Chuck continued, "the Reapers needed a new leader, this time one with all the powers of at least four Michaels and five more on top of them."

The four sons were stunned at the power just described. Death had been, at most, as powerful only as their uneven supernatural powers combined, and certainly not as powerful innately as four or more times the firstborn. They dismissed their aunt, as she was greatly more powerful than what was just described.

The Lesser Darkness, knowing that her introduction would come, remained patient.

"Father," Michael spoke, "why not me?"

"Son, I just started telling you why," the father responded, "There's not enough left of my primordial creation to create from scratch another of you, let alone one with all the powers I've described."

"The only thing from which all that power could arise now is the primordial basis of dark matter," surmised Gabriel.

Michael became uncomfortable with the undertones, despite knowing that his aunt was of nothingness and not that.

"But you never touched that except during the creation of dark matter," he stated.

"I haven't," Chuck confirmed, "but I've helped someone step out of a comfort zone to do just that."

Instantly, Lucifer exclaimed, "No way! No way that…"

He turned towards his suspect and continued, "That – someone – could create from the primordial basis of dark matter!"

"Dears," the suspect cooed, "please give a proper hello to your cousin."

The four sons turned to see the Lesser Darkness smile and wave flirtatiously at them.

For their part, the Darkness and God looked on.


	26. Bombardment Of Thoughts

**Bombardment Of Thoughts**

Amara braced herself for how Chuck would handle what was to come. Then, something else caught the common attention of the Darkness and God.

The Lesser Darkness was trying to understand this new sensation she felt upon seeing her four dysfunctional cousins in person, all the while trying to dismiss the fact that they did not ignore any of her five articles of jewellery while gazing at her. Moreover, there truly were fascinating things about these cousins, things which were only confirmed while they discussed with her uncle. If they were humans, Sefira thought, they would be beta males despite all their pretensions: the first never put himself above his reputation as his father's loyal son, the second displayed passive-aggressive behaviour and was highly emotional, the third just had to be the consummate problem solver among them, and the fourth tended to avoid confrontation as much as he could.

The nigh-omnipotent siblings exchanged, by telepathic means, encrypted thoughts about what caught their attention.

 _Brother, did… did… Sefira… just give your… four sons that particular… look?_

 _The same look you yourself, Sis, gave Dean during every encounter with him?_

 _Or… the same look giving away your… horrible-as-always taste in men?_

 _Yep, that's the look. Despite the past times when I thought you were bossy, at least you were a beta character like the rest of us primordial beings._

 _Is my daughter the first… alpha character… on the level of primordial beings?_

 _This won't affect us very much, Sis. Things would become very interesting for my four sons, however, should your daughter get her way with them._

Meanwhile, Sefira was bombarded with thoughts from numerous directions. She regretted saying that the conversations around all but the last of her uncle's apologies were none of her business. Her four cousins, however dysfunctional, remained beings of light, but she herself remained a being from the primordial basis of dark matter. Given her enforcement of Death's vision of a natural order, she was grateful that her mother had promised not to direct her to love humanity more than herself. Somehow, she thought of the possibility of loving celestial offspring of her own more than her mother, as human mothers did.

The Lesser Darkness tried to put all these simultaneous thoughts together, but little did she know that her thoughts were not shielded from either the Darkness or God.


	27. Bonded To Superior Balance

**Bonded To Superior Balance**

Neither Amara nor Chuck broke their silence. Both the Darkness and God wanted the Lesser Darkness to put her new sensation and her thoughts together, and so continued to exchange encrypted thoughts by telepathic means.

 _Brother, I don't wish to go too far ahead, but I don't know if a celestial offspring who is a being of light and of the primordial basis of dark matter could be the beginning of a superior representation of the balance of light and dark throughout your Creation._

 _Superior to humanity, Sis? What will become of them, and what about the limited pool of that offspring?_

 _Perhaps enough of such celestial offspring could have offspring of their own among humanity, improving the human gene pool? For now, these new beings should, at least, be worthy of parental love from your most immediate children and mine._

 _On the other hand, if you thought I had an ego to contend with, just wait until Sefira's current thoughts mix with her alpha ego. I advised her not to let all of her power get to her for a good reason._

 _Are you suggesting my daughter will think that her actions leading to the celestial offspring will be superior to your creation of humanity?_

 _Lucifer tried to become the new 'Lord.' Raphael did the same. So did Castiel. None of them had the power and determination to make this giant leap that would have legitimized their claims. You, dear Sis, have greatly more than enough power, but nowhere near the ego, to become the new 'Lady' of the omniverse. It was and is your time to shine, but you value our being family again way more than that._

 _I'm flattered, dear. Does that mean, though, that this omniverse has found its new 'Lady' with perhaps just enough power, and certainly more than enough alpha ego?_

 _I am optimistic that the parental love will keep the latter in check._

 _As am I, Brother._

Thus, the Darkness and God continued to confide in each other.


	28. Brazen Imitation

**Brazen Imitation**

Amara and Chuck continued to observe their guests and read their minds. For the Darkness and God, their focus continued to be on their most powerful guest.

The Lesser Darkness, meanwhile, just remembered an insight imparted by her mother. The sensation she felt while smiling and waving flirtatiously at all four of her dysfunctional cousins turned out to be the same one that her mother felt towards the human who freed her, even if only inadvertently; the mother felt bonded towards that human. She felt the urge to look past their beta characters, to feel sorry for them, and to get to know them more. However, she felt strongly that doing that last part would entail far more than simply satisfying her own curiosity.

Sefira delved further into the insight of her mother's feeling bonded. When she recollected that her mother had even kissed the human instead of consuming his soul, her sensation and even all the scattered thoughts made sense. Although neither she nor the four beta characters could love the existing dual image of light and dark more than their respective parents, they could do something similar when it came to a new dual image from their own combined efforts. It was just that those efforts had to be procreative, and that the new dual image had to be their direct progeny; even if their parents were not siblings, her mother's nothingness simply could not be reproduced.

Besides, when it came to her cousins, Sefira thought that only with her could these psychologically adolescent primordial beings become men: the first from his being a papa's boy, the second from his perennial teenage angst, the third from his chronic orphan mentality, and the fourth from his teenage runaway past. She summoned everything sultry about herself and her procreative awakening.

"Hey, cousins," a more sensual voice of the Lesser Darkness cooed as she showed her collarbone slowly, "let's get to know each other more, shall we?"

All four brothers gave a very nervous reaction to her advances.

The Darkness was flattered by her daughter's brazen imitation of her own display of the Mark, while God struggled not to chuckle.


	29. Brotherly Resentment

**Brotherly Resentment**

Amara was curious to know about how her four nephews were taking in all of this, while Chuck gathered his resolve. The Darkness and God then focused their attention towards them.

The four brothers were conflicted emotionally. On the one hand, they were not finished with either their father or their aunt, and wanted to speak their minds. On the other hand, they were very nervous about their much younger, more feminine, yet more aggressive cousin. Lucifer noticed his older brother's resentment and seized the initiative.

"Brother," he started, "Is this really the father whom you or I have known before? This time, it wasn't I who caused him to cozy up with Auntie and become this shadow of the being he once was. My past offer stands: Let's just walk off the chessboard. I'll even follow your lead once again, wherever you choose to go."

Michael was amazed that his rebellious brother was willing to put aside, practically if not emotionally, his own contempt for humanity.

"We're brothers, and the upstart is not one of us," the younger brother emphasized, insulting his cousin in the process.

"Besides," Raphael interrupted to address Michael, "The new Republic of Heaven could use a masculine President for Life, whether it's you or me."

Everyone in the Bar rolled their eyes upon hearing that very broad of a backhanded comment. Apparently, Raphael was not afraid to say this in the combined presence of his own father, his aunt, and his cousin, in addition to his eldest brother.

"If that's the case," Gabriel suggested, "then maybe I should simply go back to my old life. I had thought of becoming a new Prometheus, only to come across all of these disappointments, which are too much to bear."

Michael was absorbing everything his brothers had said. The only things certain in his mind were that his expectation of an apology for parental abandonment had dissipated, and that one being was no longer the same father he had known.

The Lesser Darkness was surprisingly amused about being insulted by her cousins like that. She would still see to it that they become hers.

Thus far, things were going just as the Darkness had discussed with God and had prepared him psychologically for.


	30. Bar Of Brotherly Love

**Bar Of Brotherly Love**

Although things were going within the bounds of best cases and worst cases, Amara and Chuck did not expect Lucifer to even consider ending his quarrels with humanity. The Darkness did not see this being consistent at all with his now-increased contempt for humanity, while God underestimated the brotherly bond shared by his four sons.

Although Michael was not impressed with how Raphael delivered his ultimatum over who should rule indefinitely over the new Republic of Heaven, and although he thought that his father was no longer the same father he had known, he considered another inspiration and turned to Lucifer.

"Yes, we're brothers," the eldest brother confirmed and turned to embrace his long-time nemesis.

"Let's get off the chessboard and get out of here, Brother," he continued.

Their aunt and their father began to shed tears of relief, recalling their own reconciliation. As Amara had discussed with him, Chuck was very prepared for his eldest son to follow his footsteps one last time in this very different way, understanding free will at last, abdicating the command of Heaven like he himself did, and now traversing on his own.

"What's with your change of heart, Brother?" asked Lucifer, still in the brotherly embrace.

"If Father and Aunt can be family again, then why can't we?" responded the eldest son.

"I'll miss your command of Heaven," remarked Raphael. His remark fell on deaf ears.

Amazed at the brotherly embrace that was never even considered, Gabriel reconsidered, as well.

"Group hug!" the youngest son exclaimed, before throwing himself at his eldest brothers to join in their embrace.

The remaining son walked slowly, struggling with second thoughts about the embrace.

Looking on, Sefira did not expect that none of the brothers would simply ignore their aunt and their father, and be family on their own terms. She then decided to let them have their own sibling time together, wherever they might go, before resuming her moves on them.

Chuck informed the brothers, "Sons, I wish you all the best in your journeys! Let me know if you wish to visit this Bar at some point."

"Until then, farewell to you both," replied Michael, making eye contact with his father and his aunt.

Knowing that it would take some time before that would happen again, the Darkness and God then teleported their respective offspring out of the Bar.


	31. Beaming Reflections

**Beaming Reflections**

Together with just each other once again, Amara and Chuck had much to discuss about what had just transpired in this very Bar. The Darkness had presented to God what she thought were the best case and the worst case. Even if her brother's sons walked off the chessboard, she expected them to walk their separate ways entirely.

"I missed that possibility entirely, Brother," uttered the older sister.

"As did I, Sis," shared the younger brother, "How could Lucifer square his doubled qualms about humanity with the circle of really nixing his quarrels with them?"

While hearing that beaming reflection, the elder sibling had a beaming reflection of her own.

"And just how did Michael manage to take a page from my book?" she questioned. During the climax of the reunion, she identified with her eldest nephew, as he felt betrayed by Lucifer since very long ago. She determined that only his long-standing belief in an absolute will of God prevented him, during all this time, from seeking revenge.

"All of that happened, and we never ever got around to telling them how we ourselves became family again," remembered the other sibling.

"Well," Amara mused, "at least they became family again without hearing pleas from the two of us, witnessing all of existence fade around them, or being in the process of dying."

The two siblings shed tears, extended their arms, and grasped one another in a tight embrace. Truly, they thought, those four beings changed just as they themselves had.

Once their embrace had ended, the older sister prepared to summon a witty response to the remark about telling those four beings about becoming family again.

"Oh, well," the Darkness jested, "We might not have told your sons how we became family again, but once their family meeting is over, Sefira will most certainly do so."

"They'll need those words from her," God added with a smile, "and much more."


	32. Beckoning Of Heaven

**Beckoning Of Heaven**

Turning to other matters, Amara felt a sense of curiosity, which she shared with Chuck. The Darkness was eager for God to help satisfy that curiosity.

"Speaking of angels, Brother," the older sister began, "I'd like to see, at some point, how the so-called 'Republic of Heaven' is doing today."

These were not the words of someone who has never been in Heaven before. During the frequent teleporting across all manner of space and time that was the family meeting, she was honoured to visit Heaven during certain points of time in the past. During each visit, she and her younger brother concealed their temporal and overall signatures from everyone, including past versions of the Creator. During each visit, she paid attention to how majestic yet dull and less cozy the place was.

"Sis," mumbled the younger brother as he expressed dismay, "you don't want to go to that bastardized place these days."

The two siblings exchanged thoughts telepathically on the subject. The curious sibling saw in her mind what Heaven had become and became horrified.

"Not so majestic these days, is it?" Amara summoned her wit.

"I know," shrugged Chuck, "You just wanted to see how the angels are doing today, but the place has become more dismal."

"So why don't you change it back, even if only as a guest?" asked the older sister. The latter part of the question was an acknowledgement that the Creator no longer saw Heaven as his home, a sentiment only strengthened twice: by the angelic refurbishment of that place, and by being in the company of real family. The Bar was his and her home now.

"So long as no non-angelic soul is affected," the younger brother replied with regret, "The angels can make the place less of a home for themselves however they wish."

"Next time they refurbish," he continued, "they'll be less comfortable there than the demons are in Hell."

The Darkness shed a tear in reaction to that statement, while God sympathized.


	33. Bringing Heaven Inside

**Bringing Heaven Inside**

Amara was at a loss of words over Chuck's disappointment in Heaven. The Darkness almost lost curiosity in God's angels after hearing of what became of that realm.

"So what next?" wondered the older sister. Her younger brother, however, was forming an alternative.

"Well, those angels remain terrified of you," the younger brother began, "They scratched your paint job twice and witnessed how our confrontation turned out."

"It's natural," sighed Amara, "for them to fear what they don't understand."

"Still," continued Chuck, "instead of you visiting the bastardized Heaven, why don't I bring it here?"

The Creator motioned with his arm, and a hand-sized object of intense light appeared instantly on the palm of his hand.

"Ta-da," he announced.

"Really?" asked the older sister in surprise.

"Honey, I shrunk the kids," said the younger brother in a humorous tone. That said, he really did shrink the entirety of Heaven down to that of a hand-sized object, and the elder sibling was amazed by what she saw. The Creator then handed the object to the Destroyer, who lifted it to eye level immediately after receiving it.

Amara was amazed at all the personal heavens that could be maintained despite the angelic alterations to the realm as a whole. Beyond those personal heavens, she observed each angel go about and do things, literally in the palm of her hand. This time around, the new design of Heaven did not horrify her.

"Brother," she called, "Why don't you come over and say hello to your kids?"

Reluctantly, Chuck approached the object. He did not want to have much to do with the angels these days, but he did so for the sake of his older sister.

"Hello, all!" declared the Creator to the tiny angels. The two siblings then made their presence known to them. They reacted in shock.

"It's OK," he reassured, "The Darkness and I are family again."

The Darkness was inspired by what she saw next: in each angel-occupied area of Heaven, many angels dancing in a spot no bigger than the head of a pin. Only for the sake of his older sister's inspiration did God smile at their joy.


	34. Behooving The Creator

**Behooving The Creator**

Amara realized that Chuck's smile was towards her being inspired by what she saw, not towards the joy of the tiny angels. The Darkness thought of how to get God to at least give a proper goodbye to them, until the next time they met.

The older sister's last temporal visit to Heaven occurred just before her younger brother's departure. She was informed by him that, when he left Heaven, his eldest son somehow managed to withhold this life-changing event from the angels for far too long. When the angels did find out, they became more fearful than ever before.

"Brother, it would behoove you to let your kids here know why you left them, to apologize for how you left them, and to give them a proper goodbye this time," encouraged Amara, within earshot of the angels.

 _Meanwhile, I'm undecided, for now, about whether you should tell your kids here about our children._

Chuck turned his gaze towards the tiny angels.

"What can I say, kids? You disappointed me," he started. Those angels that were dancing ceased doing so immediately.

"I created you to have emotions," he reminded them, "yet most of you considered having them to be a weakness, as if I cursed you!"

"When I told you to love," he remembered before he paused. He recalled what his older sister just informed him telepathically, and so decided not to tell them about the dual image underpinning humanity unless she told him to.

"When I told you to love," he repeated, "the humans more than me, you merely bowed down to them."

"Then what happened?" he asked rhetorically, "Hundreds of you were sent to Earth to protect the humans, only to rebel against that mandate! A number of that bunch even went on to prey upon human souls in the most insidious way possible!"

Meanwhile, the Darkness resisted expressing disgust in front of the tiny angels, and instead shared her thoughts telepathically with God.

 _Note to self: Tell Sefira after her mission to spare some nothingness for all such oh-so-angelic predators! They deserve to share the secretary's fate!_


	35. Bidding Farewell To Angels

**Bidding Farewell To Angels**

Still carrying the hand-sized object of intense light that was a shrunken Heaven, Amara returned her attention to what Chuck had to say next and the response of the angels. Through telepathic exchanges of thoughts, the Darkness encouraged God to find the right words.

"Look at Heaven now!" exclaimed the younger brother, "The design is too damn figurative aesthetically in terms of shape, texture, and perspective, among other sensory elements!"

"That said," he uttered, "I do apologize for not having announced my departure from Heaven. I thought that, by sneaking out, I wouldn't have to come countenance to countenance with you again."

The tiny angels all broke down and wept bitterly about their shortcomings.

"Please come home, oh Lord!" they cried.

Amara was not impressed by their plea at all, though she regretted that the angels lowered their heads in their plea so that they could not see her rolling her eyes.

"Sorry, folks, but I'm already home," Chuck broke the truth to them.

The tiny angels saw the two primordial siblings smile genuinely at each other, and in desperation, turned to the one whom they did not speak to.

"We truly do not know how to address thee," they admitted, "We beg thy forgiveness for our pointless actions against thee."

 _Now you're on the receiving end of prayer, Sis._

 _I thought they prayed only to your ego's satisfaction!_

 _They won't call that starter and the rest of what they'll say a prayer, but if it looks like a prayer and sounds like a prayer…_

 _Ugh!_

"We plead with thee, oh Darkness," the celestial creations continued, "to convince our Lord to return to his Heaven!"

Amara had enough.

"Listen, children!" she scorned them while holding their realm, "Grow up! This prayer garbage you're dumping on me is getting on my nerves worse than your little, half-assed smitings!"

She then turned to Chuck.

"Brother, one more word of prayer to me from these suck-ups," the Darkness warned, "and I'll just have to send a second dark disturbance towards them!"

"Perhaps the next time we meet, kids," God focused his words towards his terrified celestial creations, "my sister and I will be visiting, and only visiting, Heaven. Until then, fare thee well."

With a motion of his arm, the hand-sized object of intense light disappeared and was returned to its proper place and size.


	36. Books And Tablets

**Books And Tablets**

Amara felt relieved that she and Chuck were alone once more. The Darkness thought of more things she could do with God in the comfort of the Bar, only for a memory to come to her.

"I've got another angel-related thought in mind," she started.

"As long as we're not going to visit Heaven right now, I'm all ears," her younger sibling responded.

"Recall what you informed me about your secretary's so-called 'Word of God'?" the older sister reminisced, "Well, for starters, I apologize for being too dismissive towards your Tablets."

"Sis, something tells me that you want me to cobble them together again," the younger brother guessed.

"Yes and no," Amara gave a mixed answer, "Contents? Yes, please. Form? No."

"Oh?" Chuck expressed curiosity.

"The complete contents carried power greater than your Hands of God," the older sister elaborated, "I'm curious about them, to say the least. On the other hand, because the contents are too invaluable, I feel they shouldn't be engraved onto stone Tablets."

"Tablet computers, then?" her younger brother offered.

"Thank you, Brother," Amara accepted.

The next moment, Chuck recreated the Word of God in tablet computer form, and a boxful of tablets appeared.

"The beauty, Sis," he smiled, "is that each tablet contains the entire Word! There's no more need to split the thing into topical Tablets. One is more than enough, while the remainder can be spares."

The older sister pulled one of the tablets from the box and gave it an extraordinary speed read, before preparing to speak her mind.

"It's amazing how the original Tablets weren't forged from primordial creation, and yet your secretary gained enough power from just one of them to further his 'X' ambitions," she reflected.

"I'm still surprised that neither Michael nor Raphael made a move to obtain that particular Tablet before Metatron fled," her younger brother remembered, "Raphael should've searched for that Tablet instead of running the same race hopelessly against Castiel."

Putting the tablet back in the box and carrying the latter, the Darkness said, "Well, I ought to put these somewhere."

God then pointed to just the right place.


	37. Betas And Alpha Reunited

**Betas And Alpha Reunited**

Amara placed the box of tablets where Chuck pointed at. Suddenly, the Darkness displayed to God a sense of urgency.

"Is it about the tablets?" asked the latter, to which the former nodded.

"I feel compelled to share the Word," the older sister blurted, "even though it's no use to me personally."

The Creator knew immediately whom his elder sibling wished to share the Word with. Hesitant about the situation, he then offered a counterproposal or two.

"Sis, does she, of all beings, really need to be back here so soon?" the former challenged, "Can't you just share with her, telepathically, all of what you've learned from your speed-reading? Perhaps I could do the distance sharing?"

"All she'll learn from the distance sharing are insights about the contents," the latter expressed parental concern, "not ideas outside the box."

"Such as creating something similar for one or more of her foot soldiers?" needled the former.

"Perhaps, or perhaps more," pondered Amara.

"Agh, go ahead," Chuck agreed reluctantly.

The older sister reached out to the Lesser Darkness telepathically, before teleporting her back into the Bar.

"Mother, Uncle," greeted Sefira upon entry.

"Those four pagan realms centering around Anduruna are no more, and all their inhabitants have been vanquished and cast down to the Bottomless Pit," she gave a sinister smile before pointing to herself, "courtesy of the legacy of Tiamat alone."

After indicating that no Reapers participated in her assault, she boasted, "You should have sensed the dying rivals Anu, Ea, Ashur, and Marduk watching the only things they created and loved, all of them, turn to ash!"

"The other pantheons are now terrified with the darkly knowledge that their chaos deity is coming," she concluded.

 _She definitely has your mannerisms, Sis._

 _That count is two, Brother. I'm proud of her!_

"So, what is it you wish to share with me?" inquired the Lesser Darkness, containing her obvious eagerness to unleash her destructive power.

"A special tablet computer," responded the Darkness.

"The Word of God," affirmed God.


	38. Beauty Beholds The Word

**Beauty Beholds The Word**

Amara grabbed a tablet computer from the box, as Chuck looked on. The Darkness then gave her daughter the tablet, while God prepared to describe its more mundane features.

"This and those over there are no ordinary tablet computers," the Creator gave his assurance to Sefira, "as they are encrypted, firewalled, and malware-protected by supernatural means. Also, they're not breakable except, you guessed it, supernaturally."

Like her mother before her, the Lesser Darkness gave the tablet an extraordinary speed read. Her initial thought was the same as her mother's, being impressed that a mere angelic scribe was able to obtain lower to mid-level archangelic powers without utilizing any form of primordial creation whatsoever. Of course, the Word of God was second-rate compared to any Instrument of the Darkness, but the latter had to be of primordial substance for its greater power.

Just as her uncle had predicted, a more heralding thought came to her as she returned the tablet: the possibility of creating similar instruments, Instruments of the Dark Herald, for one or more of her minions to use. They would not be forged from the primordial basis of dark matter, nor would they draw upon it for their power.

Beyond the expectations of her mother and uncle, a strategic yet personalized thought came to her: creating those same instruments, but dedicating them towards a personal ability she had only begun to experiment with, and had yet to name. This ability had been derived from one form of displayed trickery by Lucifer and Gabriel during the terrible primordial war with her mother: the creation of illusions of themselves. The darkly beauty, however, saw little use in illusions, and preferred avatars or manifestations of herself, usually ahead of her essence as a dark cloud of her own.

Continuing her line of thinking, Sefira envisioned each of her avatars being empowered by an Instrument of the Dark Herald and heralding her own dark cloud. She envisioned all of them proclaiming, in unison, that her essence may be one, but that they all are her essence.

The Lesser Darkness shifted to discussing her thoughts with her mother and uncle, before requesting to be teleported out of the Bar.

"Well," suspired the Darkness, "Here's to becoming the Lady of the Instruments! All the best!"

The latter then teleported the former out of the Bar, as God looked on.


	39. Bilateral Concerns

**Bilateral Concerns**

While Amara was proud that her daughter had thought outside the proverbial box, Chuck was perturbed. Noticing this, the Darkness turned her attention to God.

"You do realize that was a backhanded compliment, don't you?" reassured the older sister.

"You've picked up on contemporary fiction very well, Sis," commended her younger brother. Amara became so well-read in works of contemporary fiction that she was able to opine that a number of malevolent fictional deities, from sentient planet eaters and other chaos deities to primordial dark lords, were far more interesting characters than the existing pagan crop who dared to call themselves deities.

"And so has she," Chuck added, "with her alpha ego. The way Sefira is going about this 'Lady' business, though she has yet to acknowledge it in full, is disconcerting. You and I have read her thoughts diligently, so you should know that she's definitely not content with just filling Death's shoes and maintaining his vision of a natural order."

A pause ensued, as both siblings recalled that earlier conversation intently.

"Brother, you're freaking out here," cautioned the Destroyer, "Did you really think I didn't pick up on each of her primordial 'Dark Lord' mannerisms to date from contemporary fiction?"

She then countered, "She just has her own vision of a natural order, not the one of your erstwhile colleague Death. She perceives herself more as a prospective ruler over as much as she can rule, including Death's bailiwick, and less as a true destroyer with real tastes for the catastrophic."

"She is the Lesser Darkness, after all," she added, "though I do hope she does have tastes running towards the catastrophic where they count."

"Still," muttered the Creator, "it's terrifying to see her as the Lady of the Reapers today, the Lady of the Instruments tomorrow, the Lady of the Celestial Consorts and Offspring the day after, and ultimately the Lady of Most Realms Outside the Bar."

The Darkness chortled at those titles before preparing a response for God.


	40. Business Of Renovating Creation

**Business Of Renovating Creation**

Amara and Chuck continued to discuss Sefira's recent visit. The Darkness defended the Lesser Darkness over God's concerns regarding her ambition and mannerisms, and in so doing had an anecdote in mind.

"Once upon a time," the older sister narrated, "I came across that witch-of-a-flirting-interest of yours."

Chuck blushed, which did not go unnoticed by the elder sibling.

"Indeed," she noted, "After she had attended to my vessel, I bluffed her into believing that your Creation needed my renovation, according to my blueprints. Fortunately for you and for me, I was wrong; there's no need for any such renovation on my part, let alone a new Creation."

"Then, however," she sounded a little more ominous, "that unforgettable revelation came, and you were then chewed out for what you did by your older, stronger sister."

A brief respite ensued.

"Based on the very human consequences of that," Amara evaluated, "and based on what my daughter, your own niece, has demonstrated so far, I must reevaluate my position in part."

"Where humans are concerned, I am of the position that your otherwise beautiful Creation does need a renovation, according to certain blueprints," she elaborated, "I know; it's a very tough pill for you to swallow."

Chuck gulped at that statement.

"Since you removed yourself from that line of business long ago," the elder sibling stressed, "that renovation should be done by someone who might even come to see herself as a more active divine feminine."

 _You just had to give her another title to use, didn't you?_

 _You gave her the first four, Brother. As I was saying…_

"That renovation," the Destroyer continued, "with all its risks and rewards, should be hers, according to her strategic, procreative, and general blueprints. In fact, it has already started, at the expense of the pagan deities."

"Other than the prohibition on profaning people's minds, I hope for two things only," the Darkness emphasized, "that she'll show the fullest of parental love towards our grandchildren, and that she won't disperse her essence beyond the very basic procreation of them."

"I really hope that your reevaluation turns out to be right, Sis," suspired God.


	41. Bartender And Patron

**Bartender And Patron**

Amara positioned herself behind the bar, preparing to be the bartender to Chuck's patron. It was clear to the Darkness that God needed something to drink to recover emotionally from the exchange they just had.

The older sister began to serve a non-alcoholic drink. Although neither primordial entity could get drunk by consuming liquor, she wanted to have a conversation with her younger brother that was sober in both substance and mannerisms.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she requested, as she served the drink.

The younger brother gulped the drink, then readied himself for what he had to say.

"Surely you know by now what I felt in earnest when I sealed away some of my own creations, such as the Leviathans and Lucifer?" he quizzed with regret.

"I can never forget what you shared with me about these during our family meeting," Amara gave her confirmation, "and, more importantly, I know all too well where you're going with this."

To her, the real question underlying that question concerned her emotional resolve, were she to be placed in such a predicament. She looked at Chuck intently, summoning the words needed to express an alternative much more to her liking.

"However," she uttered, "surely you yourself know by now that I'm not the type who seals beings away. I'm not the type who does this out of revenge, let alone out of disappointment."

Once more, the older sister recalled the memory of her younger brother thinking about being imprisoned in her cage, in exchange for her sparing all his Creation.

"I'm the type who prefers to put beings out of their misery," she remarked, based on her own experience. Based on her younger brother's facial expressions, she knew he had understood her all too well.

"Besides, Brother, on a more practical note, " the Darkness divagated with a smile, "you've got a spotty record when it comes to securing your prisoners. Care for another drink?"

"Sure thing, Sis," God agreed with a nod.


	42. Betting On Deathly Substance

**Betting On Deathly Substance**

Amara served another drink to Chuck. The Darkness had just made it clear to God again that she would rather terminate another life than seal it away indefinitely, especially if that being were to be set free by some circumstances.

A realization came upon the older sister, which she felt she had to press her younger brother about.

"You know, I do thank you again for the temporal opportunity to create, in haste, she who may become a more active divine feminine," she began. Her confidant remained uncomfortable as he drank.

"But why did you offer to be the one to manipulate time?" she popped the question.

"Um, so that you could create for a change?" the younger brother responded with both surprise and sarcasm.

"Really?" Amara quizzed him more intently, "For a Creator who's now worried that someone besides your own sister may become the new 'Lady' of the omniverse, you were quick to dismiss that prospect back then."

She leaned closer to him so that their eyes could gaze at each other with all the seriousness of what was next.

"You've got a sense of nervousness about Death, don't you?"

The question caught Chuck's attention.

"But he exaggerated…" he blurted.

"He most certainly did that about his self-importance," scoffed the Destroyer, "but you were able to reunify and repair your immediate sons without using what's left of the stuff of primordial creation. You recycled most efficiently."

"That said," she reasoned further, "you didn't offer to do something similar with regards to Death."

The two siblings then exchanged all their thoughts telepathically, as confidantes, before they broke their silence.

"Don't worry," the older sister expressed her understanding, "I'm not asking you to bring him back."

"He is not family in any sense of the word," her younger brother stated matter-of-factly, to which she agreed.

Then, a sinister smile came upon the countenance of the Darkness.

"Although I did say that she who may become a more active divine feminine must not disperse her own essence beyond the very basic procreation of our grandchildren, who's to bet on her not manipulating or absorbing the primordial substance from which Death arose? Who's to say she shouldn't manipulate or absorb whatever is left of the very essence of Death himself?" she verbalized her ominous reflections.

In response, a wide-eyed look came upon the countenance of God.


	43. Befitting Santa Claus

**Befitting Santa Claus**

It did not take long before the two siblings, Amara and Chuck, reversed roles by the bar. Now, it was the Darkness who became the patron to God's bartender. Once again, a non-alcoholic drink was served, as both of them wanted a conversation that was sober in both substance and mannerisms.

"About those tablets, Brother," began the older sister, "Are they just going to stay there in that box, never to be used by anyone?"

The younger brother gave thought to that question. Initially, he had recompiled the Word of God for his sister's enjoyment, not for privileging lesser beings at all. Now that one such lesser being read it and developed power-hungry ideas from it, he might as well privilege others. First, however, he felt the need to express cultural sarcasm at that idea.

"Sis, the festive season is still months away, and yet you're asking me to be Santa Claus to beings who are very much on the naughty list?" he said his retort.

Amara understood the cultural references in that response, but was determined to press on.

"Why not?" she pressed on as she drank, "In fact, these tablet computers should be in the dozens, for one tablet and spares to be bestowed upon each privileged being."

For Chuck, her idea of gifts was nothing less than proliferation, as the humans would call adversely such increase. She was pushing him to his limits concerning the tablets, as there could exist only so many of these means of obtaining lower to mid-level archangelic powers, without utilizing any form of primordial creation whatsoever. In response, he decided to be more literal about his cultural references. With a motion of his hand, what appeared to be a few beings took form by the main entrance to the Bar.

The older sister recognized them as non-sentient renditions of holiday elves. In reaction, she chortled at her brother becoming more literal about his remarks.

"Conveniently, these elves will manufacture more tablets over at the makeshift workshop just beyond those doors," the younger brother explained, as the holiday elves exited the Bar.

"While they do that, let's talk," he proposed, "about which lucky beings get to receive a tablet and spares."

"Of course," the Darkness expressed her acceptance, which God acknowledged.


	44. Bestowing Tablets: Archangels

**Bestowing Tablets: Archangels**

Preparing to discuss about which beings should be gifted tablet computers and spares, each containing the full Word of God, Amara was served a second non-alcoholic drink by Chuck. The Darkness wasted no time with God by beginning with the obvious.

"To start off with that naughty list," the older sister commenced, "why don't you gift a tablet and spares to each of your four sons? Don't you find it a little off, to put it very mildly, that a mere secretary became more powerful than two of them, even if only very temporary?"

"They may have become family again without us having to plead with them," her younger brother acknowledged, "but do you really think that band will treat their tablet computers as mere trinkets?"

"Brother," Amara made her appeal, "It's not like either of us is entrusting each of them with all the power given to our dearest new leader of the Reapers."

"If it makes you feel better," she offered, "the use of enhanced power coming from any tablet can be inhibited just by being in short- to medium-range proximity of an Instrument of the Darkness."

"Remind both of us, Sis," Chuck snapped, "just who is wearing all those lovely Instruments of yours!"

A pause ensued, as the confidante understood the Creator's frustration.

"Still," the latter broke his silence, "again, you just have to make too much sense."

The confidant appreciated the full scope of his sister's insight when the latter created the Instruments of the Darkness, as a means of keeping his sons in check.

"So, if right now we're gonna gift the four of them that whole first boxful of tablet computers and spares, do we have them appear at the same time, or do we gift them one at a time?" inquired the younger brother.

"You know," cooed the Darkness, "we don't have to gift your sons their tablets and spares this very instant. You yourself told them to let you know if they wish to come to this place, our home, for another visit. It's up to you if you wish to slip to them the very generic knowledge that family gifts await them here."

God committed her words to very sharp memory, as the two of them smiled in agreement.


	45. Bestowing Tablets: Secretaries

**Bestowing Tablets: Secretaries**

Amara prepared for the next part of her discussion with Chuck about which beings should be gifted tablet computers and spares. For this one, the Darkness entertained an unusual thought for broaching with God.

"You know," mused the older sister, "I was the one who suggested that these tablets and spares be in the dozens, but I didn't consider how gifting the remaining sets would upset the balance of power within the so-called 'Republic of Heaven' and its ranks."

"Well," suspired the younger brother, "have you considered the possibility that the balance of power was already upset by my four sons walking off the chessboard, and that the gifts and corresponding promotions could restore that balance?"

"Honestly, I didn't," admitted the confidante, "Thanks, though, for raising that opposite possibility."

"I'm ready for your candidates when you are," declared the confidant.

"Well," Amara drawled, "now that the wheels are spinning again, I was thinking of gifting a set to none other than your, um, erstwhile secretary."

"What?" snapped Chuck in surprise, "You mean Mr. X himself?"

"What can I say? The man helped you with your autobiography and had guts when he got under your skin and when he faced certain nothingness against me," opined the Destroyer.

"Come on, Sis! He himself admitted that it was a good call for me not to make him an angel again!" protested the Creator.

"He said maybe, Brother," clarified the older sister, "I just happen to disagree with his position and yours. That you didn't consider restoring him and empowering him with his particular stone Tablet, in urgent preparation for our confrontation, puzzles me."

The younger brother was caught off guard by that criticism of his reputation for strategic mastery.

"Also, it's not like he'll have a monopoly on the Word of God this time, archangels or no archangels," the confidante pointed out.

Her companion rethought his opposition slowly as he reflected upon that particular point.

"Right," he concurred slowly, "and it's not like he'll instantly get back into the good graces of Heavenly politics."

"Plus, I don't think he'll want to get into a certain alpha ego's bad books," the Darkness alluded that otherwise obvious reminder to God.

With that conclusion to this part of the discussion, summoned from nothingness was a bearded man, who became nothing less than awestruck upon seeing who had summoned him.


	46. Bewildered Scribe

**Bewildered Scribe**

Before Amara and Chuck stood the short, bearded man that re-emerged from nothingness. The Darkness noted the man's bewilderment at having been summoned the way he had been, before her and before God. She left her place beside her younger brother to approach their guest.

"Hello, Metatron," she greeted and extended her hand.

"Hi, Amara," the scribe reciprocated hesitantly, slowly extending his hand to shake hers.

"So, I take it you've spared the omniverse?" he asked the obvious. The one who had imploded him into nothingness nodded.

"Let's fill you in on some of what happened while you were away," offered the Destroyer, before the two of them went to sit down with the Creator.

Metatron was brought up to speed. He became awestruck at how the older, stronger sister managed to settle the oldest score and fatally wound her brother despite confronting heavy resistance from created beings, how she managed to regenerate fully from the toll of the resistance, how she was enabled by human intervention to start reconciling with her brother, and how she healed him fully and easily of the fatal damage she had inflicted upon him.

"So, how did you two reconcile so quickly?" he inquired.

"It wasn't as quick as you think, Metatron," clarified Chuck.

The scribe was informed accordingly. He became awestruck once more upon hearing that the two siblings conducted their family meeting by teleporting frequently across all manner of space and time, concealing their temporal and overall signatures from everyone, and exchanging thoughts telepathically along the way.

"After all that majesty," he found his words, "why did you two come here of all places?"

"Well," the older sister formed her answer, "initially, this was the place my brother made simply to hide from me. When we came here, he thought that here was the very place the two of us could bond some more after our trip. Shortly thereafter, I thought this had become his voluntary yet emotional cage away from all his Creation-related disappointments."

"Plus," the younger brother spoke out, "welcome to our home."

Metatron took in all those words and pondered about the significance of that last statement, while the Darkness and God read his mind and observed him.


	47. Budging On Matters

**Budging On Matters**

All three entities in the Bar, Amara, Chuck, and Metatron, maintained eye contact with each other. The Darkness found herself at odds with God about discussing with their guest the significant matters that have arisen since they themselves had arrived at the Bar. The two siblings exchanged their thoughts telepathically.

 _You know he'll ask about what has happened since you and I came here, right?_

 _Of course, and I'll be glad to tell him. Why shouldn't he learn about my brief reunion with the angels, our long-awaited reunion with my four immediate sons, and your creation of your daughter?_

 _And what about the most important matter of all?_

 _The strengthening of our bond?_

 _The redefinition of it, actually. You know what I'm referring to._

 _He's not a primordial creation like my four immediate sons, though._

 _Come on! He's your long-time scribe!_

 _I told him, when he first came here, that he was just the closest angel to the door when I walked into the room. I told him that there was nothing special about him then, and that there's nothing special about him now._

 _Oh, really? Granted, you became angry with him during his first visit here for calling you a coward, but outside that exchange, I just don't buy your shrugging his calling off like that._

 _Whatever floats your boat, Dearest._

 _Why, then, did you pick him of all humans to help you with your autobiographical manuscript? By human standards, you've got fans out there who are better editors and ghostwriters than he!_

 _Your point being?_

 _You just don't want to admit your appreciation of him being the first non-primordial being to not be terrified of you!_

Right in front of his guest, Chuck gave the genuine impression of being emotionally exhausted by that exchange with Amara.

 _I'm sorry, Sis._

 _Don't apologize to me, Brother. Apologize to him! Tell him also about our children, so that he can be invited to insert this matter and make other necessary changes to your unnecessarily gloomy autobiography._

 _I'll apologize to Metatron, but…_

 _One way or another, he will find out about the dual image. If you won't budge and tell him, then I will!_

 _Alright!_

After their telepathic exchange, the Darkness witnessed God preparing to apologize to their guest and disclose matters concerning the dual image to him.


	48. Beholden To The Scribe

**Beholden To The Scribe**

Amara had prevailed in yet another exchange of thoughts with Chuck. This time, the Darkness watched as God was about to resume discussing with Metatron.

"So, now that you two have made this Bar into your common home," the guest began, "what's happened since then?"

"Before going there, Metatron, I'd like to apologize," offered the Bar's maker, "for saying I was dismissive of you when I first chose you."

"Oh?" wondered the scribe.

"Of course there's something special about being the first non-primordial being to not be terrified of me!" exclaimed the Creator, "I was in denial, until Sis here chewed me out on the subject."

"Thank you, Chuck," muttered the secretary, "and Amara."

The older sister nodded in acknowledgment.

"Now, then, as for what has happened since this became our home," declared her younger brother, "I'd like to make a separate apology for not disclosing everything that needed to be disclosed in either the Word of God or my autobiography."

"My sister and I had a pivotal argument on the image used to create humanity," he shared. He then narrated the details and impact of creating humanity in the dual image of his sister and himself, as well as Amara's emotional reaction upon learning this.

For his part, Metatron expressed the only reaction he could at all the narration: utter shock. Immediately, he thought that, had he known about the dual image at the peak of his ambitions, he would have settled for being just the ruler of Heaven and would not have attempted to sway humanity. He was not terrified of his maker, but he certainly became terrified of the dual image. Ironically, he harbored gratitude towards his erstwhile killer for berating his own maker.

 _Brother, that priceless display of fear and humility is more than enough to qualify him for a tablet set and a celestial promotion._

 _I'm getting there, Sis._

 _By the way, what promotions did you have in mind, again, for those who will be gifted the eight tablet sets?_

 _Oh, four will become the Holy Living Ones, while the remaining four will become the Valiant Ones, or Erelim. Each of either rank will be innately and definitively more powerful than a Seraph, before tablets are considered._

The Darkness smiled, as God moved on to tell their guest everything else that had happened since they arrived at the Bar together.


	49. Blessed With Meta Reality

**Blessed With Meta Reality**

Amara observed as Chuck discussed with Metatron about her creation of and purpose for her daughter, their long-awaited reunion with her four immediate nephews, her brother's brief reunion with the angels, and even the recreation of the Word of God in tablet computer form. The Darkness looked forward to God gifting a tablet set to their guest, as well as transforming him into the first Holy Living One, the most powerful kind of non-primordial angel possible.

"Now that my brother has informed you of everything you needed to know," the older sister interjected, "the new journeys of that band of brothers may have changed excessively the balance of power in Heaven. A select group of Holy Living Ones and Valiant Ones are needed to curb the excesses."

"Whoa!" exclaimed Metatron, "Those kinds of non-primordial angels never left the drawing board, other than human confusion of them with one ancient prophetic encounter with an unidentified flying object."

"Well," suspired Amara, "now they're needed, each equipped with a tablet computer and spares."

Suddenly, the non-sentient renditions of holiday elves entered through the main entrance of the Bar with a full box, then set the box down on one spot, before going back to their makeshift workshop.

"On a more personal note," added Chuck, "my sister thinks that my autobiography, as it stands, is unnecessarily gloomy. She encouraged me to request your help with inserting my big disclosure and other additions, as well as making miscellaneous edits."

"I would be honoured, Chuck," replied the scribe, "and Amara."

"She also thinks very highly of you, even thinking you shouldn't just become an angel again," commended the Creator, "She disagreed with your self-assessment and, against many odds, won me over to her argument."

 _Indeed. Go ahead, Brother; transform him into the first Holy Living One!_

 _I'm almost there, Sis._

"Oh?" asked Metatron.

"You get to be the first Holy Living One," announced his maker, "It's time you had an upgrade."

The older sister took the initiative to slow time across all Creation to almost a standstill. She would not release her hold on time until all eight select angels were refashioned. The younger brother, meanwhile, proceeded to refashion the two-time guest.

Upon his refashioning, Metatron saw his once-human form wearing a familiar silk robe, to the delight of the Darkness and the satisfaction of God.


	50. Beguiling Masterpiece

**Beguiling Masterpiece**

Amara gazed at the refashioned guest in his silk robe, while Chuck gave him a tablet computer and spares. While reading the guest's mind, the Darkness reiterated to God that her character assessment of the scribe had been correct.

For his part, Metatron considered how to get back, however slowly, into the good graces of those running Heaven in its current conditions. Although impressed with having access to the entire Word of God in a single tablet computer, the first Holy Living One reminded himself that all his awesome new power could be inhibited simply by being in short-to medium-range proximity of the Lesser Darkness, specifically any of her Instruments of the Darkness.

Of the four planned Holy Living Ones, only he would have more than one role, as he would continue to edit his Creator's autobiography. Having regained his lost supernatural confidence, he turned his attention to the Destroyer for any editing insight on her part.

"Amara, what makes a story work?" he teased, "Is it the plot, the characters, the text? The subtext? And who gives a story meaning? Is it the writer, or the reader?"

 _Brother, what's with his beguiling yet strange rhetoric?_

 _He's just nostalgic for a very specific role of his when he furthered his 'X' ambitions, Sis, but his peculiarity is all just for our amusement. To paraphrase him from that time: he's back on board, but he's gonna have to follow our script. He won't get stuck as the villain, but he doesn't get to be the hero, either._

"That is why we rewrite," Metatron continued, almost smugly, "That was Chuck's problem, you know: he published the first draft. You got to keep at it till…"

Having had enough of his peculiar words, Amara rolled her eyes and turned to observe her brother. Chuck, meanwhile, was speaking with, promoting, and gifting the select angels planned to become the remaining Holy Living Ones: Phanuel, Sandalphon, and Israfil. Each had been summoned, dealt with, and dismissed in turn.

The Darkness knew that the four Holy Living Ones would have to form, storm, norm, and perform together at some point. God, meanwhile, was preparing for one-on-one engagements with each of those planned to become the Valiant Ones.


	51. Bestowing Tablets: More Angels

**Bestowing Tablets: More Angels**

Amara and Chuck saw the non-sentient renditions of holiday elves enter the Bar once more, delivering their second and last full box. The Darkness then saw God make a motion with his hand to make the elves disappear.

Meanwhile, Metatron asked his hosts about the inspiration behind those elves. Simultaneously, the two primordial entities pointed fingers at each other. The scribe could only smile at the sibling banter that followed.

After the banter had subsided, the eldest entity gave considerable thought to the enhanced abilities of the four Holy Living Ones and the next four Valiant Ones. First, she gave considerable thought to their greater scope of active abilities, in all their detail: full biokinesis, full chronokinesis, cosmic awareness, full electrokinesis, advanced healing, mental manipulation, full photokinesis, comprehensive power negation, rudimentary archangel banishment, full pyrokinesis, shapeshifting, comprehensive smiting, soul reading, full thermokinesis, vessel locking, warding removal, and weather manipulation. Second, she gave considerable thought to their greater scope of immunity: against all fairy magic and all witchcraft, against exorcism by those other than hosts and primordial entities, against smiting by angelic medics, and against reality warping by cambions. Third, she gave considerable thought to their greater combat resilience: against hellhounds, against Leviathans, and against even pagan deities at their peak power.

After giving all that her considerable thought, the Destroyer turned her thoughts to the tablet computer-derived abilities: effective combined smiting by just four of these eight promoted beings, conjuration, and removal of Holy Fire. A dual application of full chronokinesis and combined smiting by six or more of them would, in fact, surpass a similar attack that had been inflicted upon her by her immediate nephews eons ago – as their final assault. The wisest use of conjuration would mean hiding the tablet computers and spares deep within multiple pocket dimensions or pocket universes; the scribe was not wise enough the first time around to create even one such space for the safe storage of his Tablet. The removal of Holy Fire, although useful, was not as profound.

Meanwhile, the Creator was speaking with, promoting, and gifting those who had been planned to become the first three Valiant Ones: Zaphkiel, Raguel, and Jehudiel. Each had been summoned, dealt with, and dismissed in turn.

For the Darkness and God, as well as the two-time guest, only one promotion remained pending.


	52. Bestowing Tablets: Guardian Angels

**Bestowing Tablets: Guardian Angels**

Amara prepared to discuss with Chuck about who was to become the last of the Valiant Ones. However, the Darkness had one small matter to take care of first, before discussing with God. She turned to the two-time guest.

"Metatron, I suggest you take a short break and preoccupy yourself with creating a pocket dimension or pocket universe for each piece of your tablet set to be hidden in," she recommended. The first Holy Living One expressed acceptance towards that suggestion, then let himself be teleported out of the Bar.

"Sis, you have no idea how much he of all angels needs to follow your suggestion," teased the other primordial entity.

"Now that it's just the two of us for the moment," sighed Amara, "there's only one promotion left."

"For this one, I've got a candidate in consideration, but I wanted to go over him with you first," admitted Chuck.

"I'm all ears, Brother," offered the older sister.

"To start off," began her younger brother, "he's an angel I've resurrected, well, three times. Because he has been a human at one point, he has actually learned to love our children more than me."

"Something tells me," uttered the confidante, "that he, too, should be privy to the inspiration underlying our children."

A brief respite ensued.

"I should expand upon that," she emphasized, "All angels who have actually learned to love all men and all women more than you should be privy to that inspiration, without exception. You owe that much to them!"

Before the Destroyer could escalate the conversation, she considered the possibility of a third civil war in Heaven as the worst-case scenario, and a club mentality developing among those informed as a less unfavourable but concerning scenario. She decided not to press further.

"But we'll follow up with those other angels later," the Darkness stated her concession, "So, this angel must have been very special enough to have gotten into life-ending trouble three times, and then resurrected for his efforts. Who's the candidate in consideration?"

"Why, none other than the guardian angel Castiel," God mentioned the angel's name.


	53. Baggage Revisited

**Baggage Revisited**

Upon hearing the name of that particular guardian angel, Amara raised an eyebrow, knowing she was going to have a very interesting exchange with Chuck. Finally came the opportunity for the Darkness to understand God's special interest in Castiel.

"When I first encountered Castiel," began the older sister with her eyebrow lowered once more, "he reeked of fear and self loathing, and he looked a bit used up, yet you took a special interest in him, horrible tastes in men notwithstanding."

She offered her hand to her younger brother, who understood it as an invitation to exchange thoughts telepathically on Castiel, while they talked on only a few points. The latter extended his hand to grasp hers in return.

"His first big decision was persistence in trying to keep my one-time favourite son caged," reminisced the Creator, "even in defiance towards his scheming brothers."

"And that, to you, was more than worthy of your patching him up not once, but twice, within a very short period of time," noted the confidante.

"After my two eldest sons fell into Lucifer's cage, this angel's noble intention of trying to prevent Raphael's scheme of freeing these big boys led him to absorb all those monster souls…" narrated the confidant.

"Oh yeah," interrupted Amara, "that race you mentioned for becoming the new 'Lord' of all."

At that recollection, she could not help but digress briefly in her thoughts. She considered, as a more stable soul-based alternative, the soul absorption of the billions of that existing pagan crop who dared to call themselves deities. Only someone of Lucifer's power, Michael's, or greater could accomplish this, yet the first did not scheme of it at all.

"Brother," she brought herself back to their conversation, "just what delusional yet colourful words did he say when his ego was enhanced?"

Chuck quoted in response, "To start off this baggage – 'I'm your new God. A better one. So you will bow down and profess your love unto me, your Lord. Or I shall destroy you.'"

The older sister could not help but chortle at those words.

Her younger brother pouted, "It gets better, Sis – 'I thought the answer was free will. But I understand now. You need a firm hand. You need a father. And I am your father now. Be obedient, children.'''

In reaction, the Darkness broke into open laughter, and God followed suit.


	54. Banter On Pretensions

**Banter On Pretensions**

Not only did Amara not cease from breaking her laughter, but she also suspended her telepathic exchange with Chuck, who did break his laughter eventually. As the Darkness guffawed, God thought of his approach towards resuming the conversation.

"'Be obedient, children'?" repeated the older sister, "Now that punch line just made my day!"

She then banged her arm on the table, with her laughter intensifying.

"Funny, Sis," snarked her younger brother, "I always thought 'I understand now' was the more colourful punch line!"

"You don't get it, Brother!" the confidante dismissed the snark, "Here you've got a very, very young guardian angel who then told his definitively older brethren that they of all beings are merely his kids!"

It took some time before she ended her laughter, but eventually she did end it, much to her divine companion's relief.

"At the end of the day," she resumed, "this was merely the first contributing factor towards his self-loathing, yes?"

"Yep," nodded her confidant, "and his later manipulation by angelic higher-ups was the second. It just so happened that one of those higher-ups was the very angel you recommended for promotion."

"Speaking of this," Amara reminded herself, "just who was the more powerful pretender of the two, your special interest or Mr. X?"

"I've got a great idea," blurted Chuck, "Let's play an accurate video game, a fighting game, right here, to settle this curiosity at last!"

The elder sibling accepted this lively alternative to dry imaginations for testing combat capabilities. The two of them then found themselves equipped to play such a game within the Bar itself, on separate screens and with their respective game controllers. They gave themselves instantly the ability to play this customized game. The Darkness settled to play the game's rendition of Metatron empowered by the Angel Tablet, as God rushed with gamer's glee to select the game's rendition of Castiel empowered by the many monster souls.


	55. Battle Of The Pretenders

**Battle Of The Pretenders**

Amara prepared to fight as Metatron empowered by the Angel Tablet, while Chuck prepared to fight as Castiel empowered by the many monster souls. However, the Darkness was a little annoyed at God rushing to play a character like he did, and she also wanted to teach him a necessary lesson about future interaction between the two angels. While the Creator focused intensely on his own gameplay, the Destroyer made some stealth modifications to her in-game character.

 _The match had begun._

 _Castiel wasted no time, snapping his fingers in an attempt to implode his opponent. Metatron teleported out of harm's way, and reappeared in a rapid counterattacking motion towards the seraph._

 _With his hand, the scribe attempted to grasp his opponent and implant dangerous illusions in his mind. The opponent intensified his power negation abilities, then negated his attacker's mental assault before raising his own hand to smite his attacker. Once again, the scribe teleported out of harm's way. This time, however, the seraph was prepared and emitted holy white light towards where the other combatant was appearing. The scribe found himself banished, albeit very temporarily._

" _I'm God," boasted Castiel._

 _Seeing that this match would take longer than expected, the seraph set holy fire traps for his opponent while regenerating for another implosion attack. It did not take long, however, for Metatron to appear once more, in the middle of such a trap. The seraph activated the trap, only to witness the scribe blow out the holy fire like a candle._

" _So, you took all those monster souls," taunted Metatron, "Next time, try to be powered by the Word of God."_

 _The scribe uttered an incantation, attempting to remove all the monster souls from his opponent. Castiel became desperate and decided that a gambit was necessary. The seraph emitted holy white light, but this time directed it at Heaven itself._

 _At the same time, the monster souls were removed from Castiel, and Heaven suffered severe damage; the Angel Tablet was destroyed in the attack._

 _The two opponents, noticing the loss of their power, charged at each other for a vengeful final assault. To the shock of the seraph, however, the scribe dealt the final blow._

The Darkness smirked at the outcome and let her stealth modifications be known.

"But… you… cheated!" asserted God about his in-game character losing to an in-game Holy Living One.


	56. Bemoaning Losses

**Bemoaning Losses**

Still smirking over her gaming victory, Amara shrugged off Chuck's rather blunt bemoaning about her modifying the in-game Metatron to be a Holy Living One, not just an angelic scribe. The Darkness already had an answer prepared for God's gaming loss to her.

"I learned from the best, Brother," she snarked, rattling her younger brother with that backhanded compliment.

"Just who rushed to play a character?" she reminded him, "Oh, don't tell me you didn't cheat during the match, too! Even a massively soul-empowered angel, whom you didn't consider deploying against me during our confrontation, couldn't know so quickly that his opponent was powered by part of the Word of God – a powerful part, but only a part, nonetheless."

The younger brother focused on the aside regarding their sibling confrontation, yet could not tackle that hindsight.

"The instinctive attack on Heaven," the Destroyer recollected, "implied that the guardian angel knew that whatever powered his opponent was located somewhere in Heaven. The attack was also out of character!"

"In my judgment," she evaluated, "the two pretenders would have been able to exhibit all their enhanced abilities against each other, while still coming out even after the ordeal. Whether a soul-empowered angel would have truly been able to counter a relatively conventional soul removal spell, no matter how angelic, is another story."

"I must say," she remarked, "that were it not for your special interest in Castiel, choosing Metatron would have been more consistent with being a so-called 'master strategist,' as you've described your reputation."

The confidante had a double view of that term as applied to her confidant. As applied to his dealings with her, that was merely a euphemism for being the best cheater around. As applied to his dealings with his own Creation, that was a very legitimate term.

"I also wanted to impart upon you another sibling lesson," added Amara, "Your guardian angel will have to work with your massively upgraded scribe and get past the latter's manipulations."

"I said earlier that his manipulation by angelic higher-ups was the second contributing factor towards his self-loathing," Chuck repeated what he said before the game, "It was none other than Metatron himself who turned Castiel into a human, as part of a spell to expel the angels from Heaven."

The Darkness raised an eyebrow at that narrative twist by God.


	57. Belittled Experience

**Belittled Experience**

Amara was surprised to hear that Chuck's scribe and Castiel were not on good terms. Without delay, the Darkness reached out to God, and the two of them exchanged their thoughts telepathically.

"Looks like I grossly understated to Metatron the case for hiding his tablet set in pocket dimensions or pocket universes of his own making," sighed the older sister.

"Yup," drawled the younger brother, "Between Metatron turning Castiel into a human and the latter humiliating the former at least three times, they aren't exactly the best of buddies."

"I'm surprised that Castiel's human experience itself, no matter how brief, didn't contribute towards his self-loathing," observed the confidante.

"Don't belittle his human experience, Sis," counseled the confidant, "He survived Sam's memories of Hell despite his brief condition. Also, as I told you earlier, without it…"

"I know, Brother, I know," acknowledged the Aunt of all angels, "and without Mr. X, he wouldn't have been able to understand contemporary human culture in all its subtleties."

"Speaking of Castiel's manipulation by angelic higher-ups, you yourself saw the immediate aftermath of the most recent one," reminded the Father of all angels.

"Oh, Lucifer, dear nephew," reminisced Amara, "Just how did Castiel get into that?"

"Oh, an uneven, hellacious fistfight and some primordial braggadocio at your expense," Chuck said with a wink, "did the trick – 'I can beat the Darkness. Me. Only me.'"

Upon hearing of that false pride, an unexpected hindsight of darkly tactics came upon the older sister, which she shared instantly with her younger brother, given their reconciliation: For their confrontation, even if the latter brought back all four primordial combatants, even if he mustered powerful beings such as a massively soul-empowered angel and a Tablet-empowered angel, and even if he mustered additional reinforcements such as fairies and pagan deities, the Destroyer would still have prevailed as long as that confrontation occurred in the midst of humans. None of the angels with human hosts would have been in any position to fight her in their true forms, risking unnecessary human fatalities in the process; simple exorcism would have taken these beings out of the fight.

Now that the Darkness understood God's special interest in Castiel, she was curious about one more episode before summoning the seraph.

"So, you two were together in a bar like this before. Did you impart any dying words to him?" she questioned.


	58. Busted Tactics

**Busted Tactics**

Amara noticed that Chuck strayed from his usual attention to her. The Darkness could see that God was perturbed by something she had just communicated. Through their telepathic bond, what had bothered her younger brother became obvious, so she allowed him to continue his brooding.

For his part, the confidant was twice as perturbed as his looks suggested. While noting his confidante's question regarding his seraph, he felt busted and caught unawares by her unexpected hindsight of darkly tactics. His four immediate sons alone were needed to help him seal her away billions of years ago, and only now did he realize the emotional folly of asking a mere human witness to bear the Mark that ensured the sealing.

It would not have mattered if he had been able to reunite all four of his sons in time for that confrontation. It would not have mattered if he had recreated the Angel Tablet and empowered a cooperative angel with it. It would not have mattered if he had empowered another cooperative angel, massively, with most but not all monster souls. It would not have mattered if he had brought all these celestial individuals into the tactical mix. These beings with human hosts did not have to be killed in order to be taken out of the fight. All of them could have been exorcised by primordial means with ease, in the midst of the very human witnesses whom they dared not harm by fighting in their true forms.

Because these particular beings were vulnerable to exorcism by primordial means, it would not have mattered if supernatural forces other than regular angels and demons had been brought into the tactical mix. It would not have mattered if all the billions of that existing pagan crop who dare to call themselves deities had been persuaded to set aside their animosities and join in the confrontation over their very own existence. It would not have mattered if all of Avalon, comparable to Heaven and Hell, had sent its inhabitants, the fairies, in solidarity. Other than the Creator alone, only his four immediate sons, a massively soul-empowered angel, and a Tablet-empowered angel, were capable of attempting to seal the Destroyer once more, and even then only in concert.

To the Darkness and God, Lucifer had truly been a fool to believe that only some of the above forces were needed.


	59. Bothered Minds

**Bothered Minds**

Now that Amara knew half of what was bothering Chuck, she made her attempt to assuage him. True to her own self, the Darkness sent slow waves of darkness at God. For his part, the younger brother sensed his older sister send these dark waves at him, through their telepathic bond and outside of it. He let those reminders of their reconciliation into his essence, and became impressed at her grasp of strategy and tactics since their chess matches. It did not take long for the dark waves to calm him down somewhat.

 _Someday, Sis, you just might become the most underestimated strategist and tactician in all of existence._

 _Why, thank you!_

 _Everyone else who knows of you expects you to be a strategically and tactically careless brute._

 _Let them keep thinking this, then._

For all the effects of those dark waves, however, Chuck did not calm down entirely about darkly tactics. He turned its focus from a past confrontation with his older sister to a hypothetical confrontation with another resulting from the latter's worst-case rejection of Amara's fundamental expectations.

The tactical mix of this scenario had at its core the Creator's four immediate sons, four Holy Living Ones, and four Valiant Ones – all with their tablets. The billions of that existing pagan crop who dare to call themselves deities would either be an independent force to be reckoned with, or have their souls be absorbed by either Michael or Lucifer. Most monster souls, not all for the sake of stability, would be absorbed by the other son or by Raphael. All the fairies, regular angels, and demons would play their respective supporting roles. Meanwhile, the Destroyer caught wind of this scenario telepathically.

"Brother, you do know that my motherly instinct is compelling me to inform my daughter of this, right?" she broke the silence.

"Yeah, I know," grieved her divine companion.

"Even if I weren't to do so, you should realize that this hypothetical scenario would still not work against a comparable strategic and tactical mind such as your niece," the confidante warned. A respite ensued.

"Now that darkly tactics have been discussed," the Darkness prepared to return to her earlier discussion, "did you impart any then-dying words to your seraph while you two were in a bar similar to this one?"

To her surprise, God shook his head.


	60. Bygone Moments

**Bygone Moments**

Amara scrambled for her own response to Chuck's indication that he had said no meaningful words to his seraph. A question came to mind for the Darkness, yet she was expecting God to shake his head again.

"Did Castiel say anything meaningful to you?" she quizzed, to which her younger brother shook his head.

"He was accompanying Sam the whole time, apparently to support him emotionally for what was expected to be the explosive demise of Dean," explained the younger brother.

"So," uttered the confidante, "you've got a low-esteem angel who decides to buddy around with someone else, instead of even demanding from you why you had resurrected him of all angels not once, twice, but three times? Between that and less personal questions he had for you but somehow never bothered asking, those certainly were bygone moments."

"Look," the confidant attempted an excuse, "he was also recovering from the traumatic experience of just having been possessed, especially when that was all for naught."

"As I implied earlier, Brother," the older sister noted with a look of seriousness, "this catch-up meeting with Castiel had better be much, much more than a promotion ceremony or a gift-giving session."

A brief respite ensued.

"I was wondering: would you like me to make myself less conspicuous?" Amara offered.

"Sis, you didn't have to dissipate to your true form when I filled Metatron in," Chuck implied a polite decline of the offer, which was understood immediately.

"Perhaps I should role-play as the bartender for the two of you, to make the conversation smoother," the older sister counter-offered.

"To make it even smoother, perhaps alcoholic drinks for us two gents, and especially for he who can get drunk, would be good," suggested the younger brother.

"You think that by getting him drunk, he'll talk more?" wondered the confidante.

"He can always ask you for non-alcoholic drinks and have a sober chat," the confidant pointed out.

The two siblings prepared themselves for the arrival of their newest guest. The Darkness, while in human form, managed to maintain her grip on time. Once prepared, God snapped his fingers, and suddenly a tall man in a simple trench coat appeared before them.


	61. Blistering Seraph

**Blistering Seraph**

Before Amara and Chuck stood a tall man in a simple trench coat, the angel of their discussion. The Darkness looked forward to seeing God catch up with Castiel. For his part, the seraph had conflated emotions about meeting the two divine siblings, now together.

"Hi, Castiel," greeted the seraph's father.

"Hello, Chuck," reciprocated the guest, "and Amara."

"Hello, Castiel," the guest's aunt finished the greetings, before letting the other two settle into their discussion.

"Where's Lucifer?" Castiel snapped about his former possessor, "He needs to be put back in his Cage, not least before causing apocalyptic mayhem on Earth!"

"He won't cause that mayhem anytime soon," guaranteed his father.

"The only place capable of stopping him from doing that is his Cage!" the seraph blistered at him, "If he's not there, then where is he?"

"That, son," declared his Creator, "is a very long story."

In response, the guest probed time itself, and determined that, beyond his location, it was almost at a standstill.

"Well, Father," he countered, "it looks like you have all the time in the world to tell me."

"You should reconsider your quest to cage him," cautioned Chuck, "I know it's personal."

"I was battered, conned, and tormented into believing that Lucifer could defeat the Darkness!" Castiel summoned that awful memory, before turning briefly to Amara.

"No offense intended," he said, which his aunt acknowledged.

"Like I said," he continued, looking at his father once more, "It was a torment. The experience burned through my vessel, every second he possessed me."

"And for what?" he asked rhetorically, "Only to be exorcised forcibly at the worst possible moment?"

"He could have been exorcised forcibly at any time," he surmised with tactical hindsight, "even when he himself was trying to muster demons and artifacts, then angels themselves, then perhaps other forces, in his desperate crusade!"

The seraph paused to consider what could realistically have constituted those other forces. The witches were a wildcard, given what his primordial brother did to one of their own. The pagan deities would not dare to subordinate themselves to the source of pre-Apocalyptic carnage in their own ranks.

"And Lucifer even proclaimed that he could be called God," his father added, "once he prevailed in his desperate crusade. I know, I know."

The Darkness grimaced at that additional comment by God, not impressed with her primordial nephew's false pride.


	62. Battered Mindset

**Battered Mindset**

While Amara continued paying attention from her spot behind the bar, Chuck wanted to change the subject. This awkward reintroduction of the Castiel to the Darkness was not planned by God at all.

"So, Chuck, why am I here?" the seraph got to the point.

"Son, we need to catch up," confessed his father, "You and I didn't speak much when we last met, and I know you've got questions for me. Like you said, I have all the time in the world to tell you."

"What about Amara?" the guest inquired, gesturing at his aunt.

"You and I first met on less amicable terms," euphemized the aunt in response, "and I was wrong to say that I'd never understand why my brother took a special interest in you."

Chuck then seized the opportunity to propose discussing things over drinks.

"So, wanna chat about stuff over drinks?" he popped the question, "The drinks are on the house."

"Alcoholic or non-alcoholic?" asked his son.

"Your call," offered the father.

The two of them settled in as patrons over at the bar, while Amara was content to be their bartender and serve drinks.

"To start off," suspired Castiel, "Why do you keep punishing me by resurrecting me? Each resurrection is worse than the last."

The bartender struggled to maintain her silence upon hearing this expression of tempest, of a battered mindset, and of low self-esteem. Meanwhile, the bearded one prepared a poetic response.

"As I counter-challenged an ancient man long ago," reminisced the latter, "Who is this who darkens counsel, speaking without knowledge? Gird your loins like a man; I will ask and you will inform me."

"I'm not Job," quipped the tall one.

"Still, if you must ask me that question in that manner, son," the bearded one expressed discomfort at that, "I'd like to throw it back at you."

"Why do you think these resurrections are punishments?" he countered, "Why did you think previously that angelic resurrections are rewards for angelic service? Why did you never think that these resurrections are, instead, rewards for developing your free will, learning from your mistakes, and actually loving humanity more than me?"

Castiel was caught off guard by those three questions. The Darkness was curious about this Job, before filing the mention of him in the recesses of her mind. God considered answering his son with more questions.


	63. Barrage Of Questions

**Barrage Of Questions**

Amara served another round of drinks to Chuck and Castiel. The Darkness wondered just how much rhetorical questioning, whether preemptive and reactive, God would subject his seraph to. Regardless, the Creator would know the answers already.

"Just how did you manage to summon the free will necessary to say no, to not jump off the Apocalyptic cliff, while your fellow angels decided to do so, like sheep, on the orders of Michael the shepherd?" challenged the bearded one.

"Just how did you manage to be the only non-primordial angel on record to keep your upgraded vessel in a resurrection, while its human soul moved on?" he needled with detail.

That question piqued the Destroyer's curiosity in more ways than just its immediate application to Castiel. The memory of her possession of the baby Amara Schneider reemerged from the recesses of her mind, as if it had occurred only yesterday. The other direct details of the baby's birth, such as the fate of its human soul and whether the baby was stillborn to begin with, remained a mystery wrapped in an enigma to the dark essence herself, even now.

"Just how did you summon the courage to transfer Sam's memories of Hell from his mind to yours?" Chuck questioned his seraph, "Remember: These memories were no ordinary traumatic memories!"

On a lighter note, Amara wondered just how she did not transfer one Mary Winchester's blissful memories, of her customized heaven, to her resurrected body.

"Just how did you summon the self-esteem to say no to a desperate angelic possession attempt by your sister, Hael?" the bearded one continued his barrage of questions for the tall one.

The bartender juxtaposed the seraph's earlier rejection to Hael with his later consent to Lucifer. Her primordial nephew then possessed this upgraded angel who no longer had a human soul to contend with. The aunt then related her younger brother's question to herself. If the human soul of her vessel were still part of her somewhere, then perhaps the dark essence could upgrade the possessed being as a whole into someone of primordial substance, leaving no more human soul to be concerned about. The Darkness could then deal with the possessed being in a more consensual manner than her primordial nephew did with the seraph.

For his part, God was not finished compelling Castiel to reflect upon his character.


	64. Bracing Like A Man

**Bracing Like A Man**

Awaiting further conversation, Amara observed Chuck and their guest more intently. The Darkness could tell that God had really compelled Castiel to think about the seven counter-questions asked so far, even though these questions themselves contained the answers the angel had asked for.

"Well?" snapped the bearded one, "Have you girded your loins like a man? I have asked you, so please inform me."

The seraph braced to maintain his silence. In and of themselves, the facts within the counter-questions answered his original question sufficiently. Nevertheless, he could not respond to these questions brought to the fore by his own Creator. He struggled with his flawed thinking that led to the first three. He could not grasp why his father likened Michael's angelic soldiers, during the events before the aborted Apocalypse, to sheep jumping off a cliff on their own shepherd's direction. He could appreciate neither the uniqueness of his resurrections nor the rather favourable end of his interactions with Jimmy Novak. Although not asked explicitly, he could not comprehend how, while being a human for a brief time, he survived Sam's memories of Hell itself. Finally, when he became a human, his state of literal disgrace, of being without his angelic grace at all, should have been more than enough for him to accept possession by Hael.

"But hey," Chuck seemed to pause his questioning while resorting to sarcasm, "at least you saw a couple proud folks when you stepped seemingly into my shoes, humbled them, brought them down where they stood, and hid their faces in obscurity! You ought to be praised, uh-huh, for these triumphs that your right hand had won you!"

A pause ensued, before Castiel appreciated, more fully, the authenticity of his father's special interest in him.

"Like that ancient man," the tall one broke his silence, "I spoke without understanding these things beyond me, but now I have heard your side of the story from you personally, in this man-to-man meeting, if not a countenance-to-countenance encounter."

The bartender noted that the guest was grateful for gaining this man-to-man meeting with his father, even if this was no encounter between them in their true forms.

"Although I am neither dust nor ashes," the seraph remarked, "I do recant and relent."

The Darkness could not help but smile at God for enlightening their guest the way he did.


	65. Beatific Insights

**Beatific Insights**

"Another round?" Amara asked her patrons, who nodded. Gladly, the Darkness then served another round of drinks to Chuck and their guest.

God, meanwhile, evaluated two alternative approaches for how to discuss additional matters with Castiel. On the one hand, he could start at the time he told his angels to love the humans more than him, explaining the dual image of humanity in the process. This approach had the benefit of getting the seraph to think earlier about why he became capable of doing this well ahead of his angelic siblings. On the other hand, he could begin with filling the guest on what the latter had missed since their brief time together in a more earthly bar. This approach had the benefits of encouraging him to reacquaint himself with the bartender on friendlier terms, and of encouraging him to cease pursuing his one-time possessor. The bearded one then settled upon the second approach.

Castiel was brought up to speed. He corroborated Chuck's account, of the beginning of the latter's reconciliation with Amara, with Dean's. Somehow, he had the beatific insight to appreciate the great deal of time that the two of them spent teleporting frequently across all manner of time and space, time spent conducting their family meeting, all the while concealing their temporal and overall signatures from everyone, as well as exchanging thoughts telepathically along the way. He looked at the bartender, before the two of them smiled and shook hands.

Next, the seraph was enlightened by his father about the latter's creation of all men and all women in the dual image. He took in, slowly, the notion of these humans being created in the image of the Creator and the Destroyer, as well as the latter's emotional reaction upon learning this. Yet, he was not as shocked upon hearing all of this as the previous guests of his father and his aunt, nor was he as shocked as those two had anticipated. To him, this revelation was something just nice to know, something that would not impact his developed appreciation for humanity either way.

All the while, the Darkness read the guest's mind for his reactions. God prepared to tell him of the reunion with his four immediate sons, as well as to encourage him to abandon his pursuit of Lucifer.


	66. Beseeched To Abandon Pursuit

**Beseeched To Abandon Pursuit**

Telepathically, Amara was informed by Chuck of what he was about to discuss with Castiel. Since a quest for revenge was involved, the Darkness informed God that she was ready to join the discussion if she were needed.

The Creator narrated about the reunion with his four immediate sons, leaving all the details about his newly-created niece for another time.

"None of your four eldest brothers," he conveyed with slight regret, "took the tale and apologies regarding the dual image with as much stride as you have, Castiel, not even Gabriel."

"That's because they've never come around to loving the humans more than you," concluded the seraph.

"Correct," the bearded one uttered, "and Lucifer responded by doubling down on his resentment towards humanity."

At that moment, the tall one cringed. His father may have known that his quest to cage that wayward brother was personal, but now a misguided sense of duty towards the humans gained preeminence. With that increased resentment, there was no telling how soon Lucifer would attempt, once more, to exterminate humanity. He was about to be caught off guard by what his Creator had to say next.

"What Lucifer did next, son, was so totally unexpected!" Chuck exclaimed, "Not only did he ask Michael to walk off the chessboard, he sweetened the pot by offering to follow his lead once again, so long as both of them walked off. He actually squared the circle, offering to nix his quarrels with the humans despite his doubled qualms about them!"

"He capitalized on his elder brother's resentment toward me," he stated, "and what happened next? Michael actually embraced him and accepted his offer!"

"As did the other two?" inquired Castiel.

"Yes, as did the other two," affirmed his father, "and I never even got around to telling them how Amara and I became family again!"

"So please," he beseeched, "please drop your vendetta against your older brother."

"Where are they now?" questioned the seraph, before taking his time to weigh his options.

"They're having their own family meeting," replied the bearded one, "just like your aunt and I did – minus the teleporting across all manner of time, of course."

"Well," the tall one smiled after weighing his options, "at least Luci is off the chessboard. I'm down with that."

In response, the Darkness and God expressed their relief.


	67. Boosted Son

**Boosted Son**

Now that the desired, emotionally intensive discussion was over, Amara look forward to what Chuck was about to do to Castiel. With her greater appreciation of the guest before her, the Darkness determined that she would not bored with maintaining her grip on time for a good while longer. God, meanwhile, was about to commend the seraph.

"Amara, this is my beloved son, Castiel, with whom I am well pleased," the bearded one declared formally, to his older sister's satisfaction. He then turned back to the tall one.

"Now that your primordial band of brothers is off on its exclusive family meeting," he mentioned, "new kinds of angels are needed to curb the disruptions to Heaven's balance of power. Four of your brethren have been boosted into Holy Living Ones, and three more into Valiant Ones."

"And you've been chosen to be the fourth Valiant One," interjected Amara with a smile.

"But first," recognized Chuck, "I ought to repair you."

Upon seeing and hearing his father snap his fingers, Castiel felt more whole again and less burdened. The grace within him was no longer just the last of his original grace, for it had just been restored in full. Sam's memories of Hell were no longer even in the recesses of his mind, for they had just been extinguished.

The Creator proceeded to refashion his seraph, and then gave him a tablet computer and spares.

"Father, what are these?" the fourth Valiant One asked like an innocent child. Suddenly, a torrent of relevant knowledge flooded his mind.

"Each one of these tablets," answered the father, "contains the entire Word of God. Each is encrypted, firewalled, and malware-protected by supernatural means. Each is impervious to breaking, except by supernatural means. You've now become just a bit more powerful than when you stepped seemingly into my shoes."

"Again," he reminded his son, "don't think negatively about all of what I've just done for you."

The two of them reached out and connected with a manly embrace. The Darkness, expecting the Valiant One to double down on the drinks and ask questions of a less emotionally intensive nature, continued with her grip on time with no sign of boredom. God was more than willing to oblige his son's curiosity.


	68. Boyish Curiosity

**Boyish Curiosity**

Amara looked on from her side of the bar, seeing and hearing Chuck entertaining Castiel's curiosity. If the Darkness did not know any better, she would have thought the tall guest to be boyish with his questions. God, meanwhile, had a few more points of discussion to cover, and hoped they would segue with the questioning.

"So, is there anything else I should be aware of with regards to the Holy Living Ones and the Valiant Ones?" inquired the tall one, after his curiosity on other matters had been satisfied.

"The first one's none other than Metatron," blurted his aunt, the bartender, much to the Valiant One's surprise.

"He was your suggestion, Sis!" clarified the bearded one.

"And you said, Brother, that it'll take time before he comes anywhere near the good graces of Heaven," rebutted the bartender.

"Meanwhile," interrupted the guest, "who besides the other six angelic upgrades and myself will keep him in check?"

Amara took her time to answer that question. She mentioned her creation of her daughter and how this intelligent creation could keep Castiel's primordial brothers in check, as well. The aunt also mentioned what the latter had been preoccupied with. The guest could not help but be impressed, knowing that his having been massively soul-empowered was no match for the new power before them all. Chuck, meanwhile, refrained from mentioning his reservations about his niece.

When all the Valiant One's questions of boyish curiosity had been answered, the aunt released her grip on time. Father and son exchanged their words of farewell, and then the guest was teleported out of the Bar. The two siblings found themselves in front of each other.

"Having all those tablet computers around, then gifting them to those whom you've promoted, doesn't feel bad now, does it?" asked the confidante with a smile.

"I must admit," confessed the confidant with a smile, "that this episode has lifted a lot of emotional dead weight from my proverbial shoulders, and that this wouldn't have been possible without you around."

Simultaneously, the Darkness and God extended their arms, then grasped one another in a tight embrace.


	69. Bedarkened For Primordial Disclosures

**Bedarkened For Primordial Disclosures**

With no guests to entertain, Amara intended to follow up on her earlier discussion on darkly tactics of a hypothetical nature, while Chuck prepared to play pool billiards. The Darkness felt compelled to inform her intelligent creation, in front of God himself, when another possibility came across her mind.

"Brother, now that those angels are gone," she began, "I was thinking about informing your niece regarding your hypothetical scenario of confrontation, but now I have something more unoriginal to suggest."

"By all means, Sis," her younger brother spoke nonchalantly.

"Remember when Lucifer bragged to his brothers about your personal apology to him?" questioned the confidante, "Just how did that apology come about?"

"It started out as a therapy session conducted by Dean and Sam," sighed the confidant, who then turned to see his divine companion snicker.

"I even got to call Mr. 'Could Call Me God' – his words – for his salesman-like coup attempt in Heaven recently," he emphasized, "I then asked this 'New God' – my scoffing words – about what he would have done about himself afterwards."

"Eventually, I relocated the Winchesters elsewhere within their bunker, before making a proper, private, and emotional apology for my playing favourites, thinking he had been strong enough to bear your Mark," he continued.

"Well, it would be very beneficial for you, really, to have an upfront sit-down with your niece," Amara laid bare her suggestion, "You started out optimistic that a hypothetical parental love on her part would keep in check any emerging impulse towards becoming the new 'Lady' of the omniverse. Then, you freaked out when she exhibited primordial 'Dark Lord' mannerisms from contemporary fiction. Not long after, you made the very cryptic suggestion that I should consider sealing my very own daughter away, were she to cross my red line…"

"Which," Chuck interrupted, "by the way, you have yet to disclose to her."

"And now, you've poked around with a scenario in which she would be even more ganged up on than I ever had been?" the older sister yelled.

"Fine, let us sit down with her," stressed the younger brother, "both you and I. If you wish to facilitate throughout the sit-down, go ahead, but you'd better let her know of the details of your red line."

The Darkness nodded in agreement with God, then bedarkened their home with the presence of her intelligent creation.


	70. Bailiwick Of Death

**Bailiwick Of Death**

Before Amara stood her intelligent creation, her daughter; before Chuck stood Sefira, the niece who had assumed the same adult female form as his older sister once did. Finding herself in the middle of this verbal confrontation, the Darkness primed herself to resolve the tensions between God and the most powerful created being in existence, the Lesser Darkness.

"Mother, Uncle," greeted the latter.

"Those pagan realms centering around Duat are no more, and their competing lot have been vanquished," she reported, "All of them, including rival solar deities Atum, Ra, Amun, and Aten, are now in the Bottomless Pit, courtesy of the legacy of Naunet!"

"Four chief deities again? That's an impressive achievement, my dear," the Destroyer extolled this accomplishment.

"Come," she gestured to a table where her younger brother and her daughter could sit on either side of her.

"Now, Sefira," the mediator said once all of them were seated appropriately, "Do you remember what your uncle told you about your power?"

"Crystal clear," answered her daughter, "Uncle told me not to let my power get to me."

"So why have you?" interjected the Creator, "I can hear all and see all, you know."

"What he's also implying, my dear," added Amara, "is that you're clearly not content with Death's bailiwick."

"Mother, you're right," acquiesced Sefira, "Don't get me wrong; I delight in my current leadership role, but you made me into who I am. I shun mediocrity and embrace my ambitious personality."

"Surely you know about those angelic cousins of yours who were also ambitious," retorted Chuck.

"Yes, I do, and more than well enough. Simply put, all their ambition was not backed up by sufficient power and insights," reminded the guest.

"Sis, I need to play bad cop here," the uncle diverted his attention towards his older sister and begged her, before he returned the attention.

"Okay, 'New God,'" he wasted no more words, "Whether you acknowledge it or not, this is the end result of what you're trying to accomplish."

"Uncle, you just insulted me," the intelligent creation shot back, "with that masculine epithet!"

Without hesitation, the Darkness extended her arms, one in the direction of the Lesser Darkness, and the other in the direction of God, in an attempt to deescalate the war of words transpiring before her.


	71. Bubbling Antagonisms

**Bubbling Antagonisms**

Both Amara and Chuck were surprised that Sefira had the boldness to answer back the way she did. After a short while, the Darkness retracted her arms slowly, while the Lesser Darkness looked on. God, meanwhile, prepared his response to the bubbling antagonisms he now had with his niece.

"Allow me to flesh out my point, o Lady and Sovereign of the Reapers and of the Instruments," he began derisively, "I heard and saw you proclaim that the power of primordial creation became yours the moment you retrieved my primordial gift to Death. Also, before your campaign against the pagan deities who were worshipped throughout ancient Egypt, your collection of instruments only grew."

"If you are referring to my Instruments of the Dark Herald, you are correct," his niece agreed, "but what do these secondary instruments have to do with my ambitious personality, as applied to my possession of that specialized instrument of creation?"

A pause ensued.

"On another note," the mother put forward, "when I briefed you on the billions of that existing pagan crop who dare to call themselves deities, you became overly fascinated by the power generated by, and transferred during, mass veneration. I had to remind you that neither your inherent being nor the Instruments of the Darkness can be enhanced by it."

"Allow me to make a possible connection here," interjected the uncle, "When your daughter received those instruments, she thought about the possibility of making them to be recharged instantaneously without going to you or drawing upon the primordial basis of dark matter."

Not long after, Sefira smirked.

"Thank you, Uncle," she mocked, "for giving away, half-wittingly, one secret to recharging my instruments by other means. Do you have any others, perhaps less controversial ones?"

"I knew it!" exclaimed the Creator, "I knew you'd love to be in a position to absorb such power, which has the added benefit of being renewable power! I knew you'd love to be, in the process, on the receiving end of mass veneration! I rest my case."

"You are who you are, o God, but," the Lesser Darkness breathed heavily, preparing to chant in an ancient language, "I will be what I will be!"

"What was just spoken?" inquired the Darkness.

"A name of mine, and a hard-hitting admission of her aspiration towards recognized divinity," answered God.


	72. Bold, Active Divine Feminine

**Bold, Active Divine Feminine**

Amara did not expect the war of words between Chuck and Sefira to become so personal. Both the Darkness and God awaited an explanation from the Lesser Darkness.

"To paraphrase your scribe, Uncle," snorted the guest, "that is why there are rewrites by others. That was always your problem, you know: always publishing the first draft."

"Better than no draft at all, kid," the uncle shot back.

"And look at how your four primordial sons, my four primordial cousins, and also all those involuntary donor-assisted renditions of the dual image, have turned you into a deadbeat dad," snarled the intelligent creation, "nowhere near the World's Greatest Dad that you claim to be!"

The mediator gave away a slight smile, remembering how she kicked an annoying mug inscribed with those words. Since then, her opinion of their being annoying had changed to an opinion of their being eccentric.

"Fortunately, someone is around to revise your primordial and human messes by mutually beneficial means," announced the most powerful created being in existence.

The mother, seeing her daughter's gaze turned towards her intently, raised her hands up to express disagreement.

"Thank you, my dear, but I prefer to stay out of the 'New God' and 'Divine Feminine' businesses, or whatever gender-neutral term you prefer," she replied, "Family is much more important to me than that."

"Which is more than can be said about the prospective Lady and Sovereign over the Celestial Consorts and Offspring of tomorrow," quipped the uncle.

"Mother," Sefira called, ignoring her distracting uncle and showing a brazen gesture of thanksgiving prayer, "I thank you for having made possible the ability for an active divine being, with enough preternatural insight, innate power, and instruments, to step into…"

"Sefira, please, please do not pray to me," Amara begged rather successfully, to her daughter's compliance, "Did you just call yourself an active divine being?"

"Here you go," drawled Chuck with sarcasm, "just aspiring to be recognized and to become tomorrow's High Sovereign of High Sovereigns over most realms outside our home!"

"Why, thank you, Uncle," the Lesser Darkness sneered boldly, "for substituting your earlier, masculine insult. If it makes you feel comfortable, you may address me as the Active Divine Feminine."

Both the Darkness and God gestured with a facepalm.


	73. Breathing Heavily In Thought

**Breathing Heavily In Thought**

Both Amara and Chuck took in, slowly, the bumptious assertion that Sefira had just made. Breathing heavily, the Darkness and God exchanged, by telepathic means, encrypted thoughts.

 _Nice going there, Brother, you and your bad cop stunt!_

 _Hey, at least now she stated clearly her desire to be the new 'Lady' over all Creation! Just read her thoughts now, recycling a couple of religious creeds for her own purposes!_

 _She believes in the Divine Choshech?_

 _That's you Sis, the Divine Darkness, and she's describing you: the beginning of all existence, the Tohu Wa-Bohu and Yin before all being, the all-power beyond all being, and the Destroyer above all being._

 _Tohu Wa-Bohu?_

 _It's a literary contradiction. Humans have translated this as 'form and void,' and more loosely as 'formless and empty' and 'chaos and desolation.' Personally, I prefer 'the existence and nothingness before all being.'_

 _And what's Yin again?_

 _It comes from human philosophy from the east, literally meaning 'shady side' but representing much more. In this philosophy, Yin denotes the logically negative, passive, and feminine principles in our balance, yet inherent within Yin is a portion of the opposite principles._

 _I like this! It most markedly distinguishes me from the chaos deities in contemporary fiction. Now, she's playing to your ego, declaring that she believes in the Divine you: the younger kin, the beginning of all being, the Yang of all being, the Creator of all but the darkest creations, and the all-power above all created being. Of course, Yang…_

 _It comes from the same philosophy, literally meaning 'sunny side.' Yang denotes the logically positive, active, and masculine principles in our balance…_

 _Yet inherent within Yang is a portion of the opposite principles._

 _Now, she's describing me further: the one who alone is God…_

 _That, no doubt, is a hard-hitting statement against the billions of that existing pagan crop who see themselves as deities. What's the next part about you: whose personage is indivisible, and whose unity is without association?_

 _I'll answer that with a thinking question: Do you see me as one being with two or three persons or personages?_

 _No. Why?_

 _A couple billion humans do, for better and for worse._

 _The one who established the laws of physics and justice? Whatever._

As the Darkness and God appreciated these initial creedal thoughts of the Lesser Darkness, they anticipated the less savoury ones.


	74. Binity To Divine Trinity

**Binity To Divine Trinity**

Amara awaited her intelligent creation to introduce herself in her creed, while Chuck expressed uncertainty. While the Darkness continued to read the thoughts of the Lesser Darkness, God was undecided about whether the guest would merely introduce herself, in which case he would merely clarify things for his divine companion, or in fact compel him to counter each thought with a counterpoint.

 _Is this the part where my daughter will finally elaborate, in thought, her reasoning for calling herself the 'Active Divine Feminine'?_

 _I wouldn't be surprised, and need I remind you that it was you who used that term first?_

 _Need I remind you, Brother, that it was you who gave her, however unintentionally, the earlier epithets? Anyway, here we go: referring to herself, she has declared that she believes in the Active Divine Feminine, the Choshech… what did she just say after?_

 _That whole term means 'Lesser Darkness.'_

 _Who emanates wisely from the presence of the Divine Darkness?_

 _I've got to admit that this part is a really sweet spot for this kid to hit, at least for her own purposes. First, it cleverly integrates the word 'emanation,' the meaning of her human name – Sefira. Second, it integrates, no less cleverly, the ideas of wisdom and presence – the meaning of Sophia and Shekhinah, respectively: names associated with the Divine Feminine in varying mysticisms. Third, this part in its entirety is based on the original creed of those who see me as a convoluted trinity._

 _Who proceeds with assent from the presence of the Divine God?_

 _This next part is less impressive. It is based on the Canaanite myth of the lead pagan deity, the Baal Hadad, riding out to conquest on his cloudy chariot, from the heavenly throne of El. I bet you that this kid's second use of the word 'presence' is an insidious denial of the throne over Creation having been mine in the first place. She wants it for herself!_

 _Just as you yourself wanted to be made large and 'Lord' in the first place?_

 _Didn't we agree, Sis, that whatever faults you find in my ego pale in comparison to her alpha ego, the elephant in the room?_

The Darkness agreed with God, having remembered their earlier telepathic exchange on this comparison.


	75. Broad Portfolio Of Divinity

**Broad Portfolio Of Divinity**

As Amara prepared for her intelligent creation to continue with her thoughts about her creed, Chuck became more defensive. As the Darkness and God awaited their guest, the Lesser Darkness, to describe mentally the justifications for being recognized as the Active Divine Feminine, the second divine being prepared to counter, point by point, each thought that the guest could muster.

 _Moving on: Who rules as the jealous Deity Supreme and High Sovereign of High Sovereigns outside the Divine Presence…_

 _Finally! There she perceives herself, seated upon that shiny throne, with her alpha ego titled accordingly!_

 _But what Divine Presence, though?_

 _That's our home._

 _Who renews and sustains all of Creation by renewing and sustaining each of its life cycles?_

 _Bah, that's more egotistic unoriginality, this time based on the very simple Hindu trinity of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. Here, she's cherry-picking from Vishnu. It's too bad that their ancient religion has other deities, too._

 _At least she has started with the back end, Brother, with mortal death. Just wait until she goes all the way to the front end, taking a page from what I've learned about Norse mythology regarding the broad portfolio of the pagan deity Freyja: love and sex, fertility, wealth, war, and mortal death._

 _To fully reach that front end, Sis, this kid would have to go well beyond Freyja's limited understanding of love and abject promiscuity. Merely having her way with my four immediate sons, your four immediate nephews, and raising their celestial offspring towards improving the human gene pool reproductively won't do._

 _Who renews and sustains all of Creation by renewing and sustaining everything in between its life cycles and petitionary prayers?_

 _That refers to what a significant minority of humans deem to be daily miracles, things given without their asking, such as: the ability of their minds to distinguish day from night, the strengthening of their steps as they move with their legs, the strengthening of the weary, and the removal of both sleep from their eyes and slumber from their eyelids. Not even Death himself had this specific detail within his power, and yet here it is, well within this kid's power!_

The Darkness felt that her intelligent creation was a real accomplishment on this particular aspect, despite God's remarks.


	76. Believable Triune Divine Will

**Believable Triune Divine Will**

Amara and Chuck took note of the last two words of their guest's thoughts so far. Indeed, the Darkness prepared to make brief remarks to God, once more, about his complete silence towards petitionary prayers.

 _Who renews and sustains all of Creation by answering all petitionary prayers to the triune Divine…_

 _Yeah, right! How many petitionary prayers has her alpha ego actually answered? This has yet to register for counting on the fingers of one hand!_

 _At least she plans on not being silent, on saying No and justifying why in clear terms, and on saying Wait just as clearly._

 _Sis, there's got to be a trade-off for this too-good-to-be-true approach towards answering petitionary prayers!_

 _On another note, Brother, did she just turn us into a trinity with her 'triune Divine' formulation?_

 _Cleverly, she kills three birds with one stone: substituting the masculine 'God' and the equally masculine 'Godhead' with her gender-neutral formulation, being the primary recipient of mass veneration, and countering any possible objection that her future veneration will be outright polytheistic. Since she herself rejects any belief that I am divisible, or that my unity is associable, she installs a divisible Divine whose three persons or personages are mysteriously associated with one another._

 _Are there any other human conceptions of complicated, not-outright-polytheistic trinities that I should be made aware of?_

 _Just off the top of my head: There are the Ayyavazhi Trinity, the Gnostic Three Forms of Divine Thought, and the Zoroastrian Ahuric Triad._

 _Moving on: Who does all these things with power and wisdom greater than those of all intelligent creations combined?_

 _I can't deny that, since you made her that way._

 _And who bears the triune Divine Will to which I surrender my daily living?_

 _Oh, Mother of Darkness!_

 _What's wrong?_

 _There's the trade-off: active responses to petitionary prayers in exchange for surrender theology! That surrender theology has always, always been creepy to me, regardless of religion! This kid is worse than my firstborn son had been on this! At least then-Papa's Boy truly believed that the absolute will and perfect plan of God were indeed mine! Here, we've got a clever opportunist whose alpha ego desires for all intelligent creations to be Michael to her God!_

Still contemplating that last thought, the Darkness and God wondered what to do next.


	77. Boasts Of Divinity

**Boasts Of Divinity**

As much as they wished to contemplate further, Amara and Chuck nonetheless returned to their non-telepathic discussion with Sefira. As the Darkness and God lowered their hands to look upon their guest, the Lesser Darkness prepared to catch them off guard.

"Mother, Uncle, before visiting here once again, I've learned to know when either or both of you are reading my mind," disclosed the most powerful created being in existence, to the expressed shock of her elders.

"I may never be powerful enough to shield my mind from either of you, let alone read either of your minds by myself," she added with a smile, "but at least you can no longer hide your probing."

The elders looked at one another in astonishment, if only for a moment, before returning their attention towards their guest.

"Uncle," the intelligent creation directed her boastful words towards her uncle, "you feel so threatened by me, fearful that I can renew Creation more perfectly than you."

The mother blushed in reaction to her daughter having been inspired by her past words.

"However, it is a burden I feel I must accept," the latter said smugly, recalling the ambition of her uncle's scribe, "So, what do you two think about the planned creed for my followers?"

"I must say," acknowledged Amara, "that you've explained your case for recognized divinity rather well, with regards to your essence and your aspirations."

"Creation needs an active hand. It needs the active Divine," Sefira proclaimed, recalling the conflicting ambitions of two of her angelic relations, "and if anyone is going to be the active Divine now, it will be I."

"First off, if it weren't for your primordial power and insight being greater than Death's, I'd say you just blasphemed," snapped Chuck, "claiming for yourself the attributes of deity or divinity!"

"Cry me a river, Uncle," the Lesser Darkness shot back, "You have shown that you are not as good in the art of rebuking as you think, such as when you called me 'New God' or a kid. That is no model for reproving one's niece without incurring guilt because of her, is it?"

Upon hearing that rhetorical question, the Darkness and God turned to look at one another in puzzlement.


	78. Billions In Visions

**Billions In Visions**

Amara noted that, between herself and Chuck, it was the latter who turned his attention away from Sefira first, even if he did so slightly ahead. After an exchange of thoughts telepathically between the two of them, the Darkness and God returned their attention towards the Lesser Darkness.

"You're right, my dear," began the mediator, "The rebukes you've been given so far were some combination of masculine, patronizing, and defensive ones. They merely put concrete words to your once-fuzzy aspirations."

"Thank you, Mother," replied the guest, "although it does gladden me to be able to use Uncle's own words, as well as the ambitious words of some whom he knows all too well, in an argument against him."

She turned her attention towards her uncle.

"So, Uncle, have I explained my case to your satisfaction, or should I continue to be unoriginal in my explanation?" she needled him, "Try this: What others may call 'renovating a fixer upper,' I call 'renewing Creation.' This, however, will be according to my blueprints, not yours."

Amara blushed in response to Sefira paraphrasing her. A pause ensued.

"Well, before this slips from my mind, my dear," the former broke the silence, "now's the right time for me to share with you what was originally intended to be the only purpose for your current visit."

"How lovely," grumbled Chuck.

The intelligent creation then received visions from her mother of being massively outnumbered in combat. In each vision, the twelve greatest ones assembled against her were her four primordial cousins, the four Holy Living Ones, and the four Valiant Ones, each empowered with a tablet computer and spares containing the entire Word of God. In one vision, the billions of pseudo-deities were summoned to be an independent bevy to be reckoned with, while Michael was empowered by most monster souls. In a second one, that cousin was empowered by the absorbed pseudo-deities, while Lucifer was empowered by most monster souls. In each vision, the combatants were supported by all the fairies, regular angels, and demons.

"Bring them on!" the Lesser Darkness overlooked the Darkness and dared God.


	79. Biblical Battle Royal

**Disclaimer: The title of this chapter comes from the official promo clip for Season 11's Episode 22, "We Happy Few."**

* * *

 **Biblical Battle Royal**

A reluctant Amara and an eager Chuck inserted themselves into Sefira's visions, knowing that she knew they were there. From there, the Darkness and God observed these hypothetical battles unfolding within the tactically competitive mind of the Lesser Darkness.

 _The battle royal of Biblical proportions had begun._

 _Sefira transformed immediately into a dark cloud, then released human-shaped avatars, or manifestations, of herself, each empowered by one of the multiple Instruments of the Dark Herald that she had crafted already._

 _Conversely, the Dark Herald was fortunate that power negation oozed, without a thought, from her inherent being and from her Instruments of the Darkness. This affected, immediately, the short- to medium-range use of the Word of God tablet sets, as well as the Hands of God that were being carried._

 _The dark cloud teleported back and forth, in a rather playful elusion of her four primordial cousins' vain attacks. Each of the avatars deployed to deal with the Holy Living Ones, the Valiant Ones, the pseudo-deities who had not been absorbed, the fairies, the regular angels, and the demons, engaged their respective assignments. She was counting on those avatars dealing with the first two groups of opponents to be the ones to turn the tide of battle._

 _Not to her surprise, those critical avatars eventually dispatched the Holy Living Ones and the Valiant Ones. They then joined forces as a force multiplier, specifically a concentration of force, to dispatch sequentially the demons, the fairies, and the pseudo-deities who had not been absorbed. With each bevy dispatch, a formerly engaged avatar was added to the force multiplier._

 _The most powerful created being in existence, supported by her avatars, now witnessed her four primordial cousins finding only themselves remaining against her. Not wasting time, she summoned the combined power of her inherent being and her Instruments of the Darkness. Next, with a mere gesture, she exorcised the enemy combatants from their corporeal vessels, even though this tactic was by this point unnecessary. Within moments, she followed up with another gesture, this time obliterating her fleeing opponents instantaneously._

 _The dark cloud absorbed her avatars and transformed back into the jewelry-laden form of Sefira once more._

" _Behold, the Active Divine Feminine!" she yelled._

The Darkness became proud of the tactically competitive Lesser Darkness, while the established master strategist and tactician, God, expressed the shock and awe of a strategically crippled opponent.


	80. Bell Rung In Remembrance

**Bell Rung In Remembrance**

While expressing her parental pride, Amara ignored Chuck's reaction and could have sworn she herself would have neither oozed so much power negation during a conflict nor teleported back and forth the way Sefira had done. While the Darkness was learning the lessons of the hypothetical visions studiously, God could not believe that his niece's avatars were more than capable of eliminating his newest angelic upgrades with surgical precision. For her part, the Lesser Darkness knew that her enviable strategic and tactical thinking flowed from a truth not yet discussed: her innate and augmented power were not enough for her to simply march forward, like her dark creator, and absorb all her opponents' attacks.

Together, the three of them returned to their non-telepathic discussion, all seated as before.

"So, were Uncle's newest fan club members and the rest of those visions supposed to intimidate me?" scoffed the guest, "Clearly, that is the best that can possibly be mustered outside Divine intervention!"

"Actually, those visions were the result of your uncle himself being unnerved by your aspirations," disclosed the mediator.

The most powerful created being in existence cast a smirk upon her countenance. She could only guess how much deeper her uncle's state of fear was now, despite his own ability to inhibit all her innate and augmented power, as well as defeat her, all by himself.

"If I wanted to, I could have exorcised more or all of those whiny, winged suck-ups at the outset," she spat, "but that wouldn't be as much fun."

The uncle could not hold his silence towards this prideful niece any longer.

"I should remind you," he warned, "that your moving around and your artificial minions merely compensated for your inability to prevail by merely taking in my Creation's assaults."

Now that Sefira had been confronted about this limitation, she mustered the only response she could muster at that moment.

"Speak for yourself," she retorted incisively, "Does your sealing away of your older, stronger sister, none other than Mother here, ring a bell?"

The Darkness had enough of God and her intelligent creation spiralling the discussion out of control.

"Now that you've listened to what he had to say for now, at least," she suggested to the Lesser Darkness, "would you care for my take?"

"Of course, Mother," accepted the latter.


	81. Baleful Inspirations

**Baleful Inspirations**

Amara gave a short glare towards Chuck, gesturing for him not to interrupt what she had to discuss next with Sefira. The Darkness, having returned her attention to the Lesser Darkness, was determined to seize the opportunity to share those other concerns that she and God had discussed earlier.

"When you came here to analyze one of the new tablet computers," reminisced the mediator, "I learned that, by then, you've read some works of contemporary fiction already. You've appreciated them to the point where you've become quite fascinated by sentient planet eaters, other chaos deities, and primordial dark lords, amongst other similar antagonists. In turn, you've become inspired to the point where you're now so dismissive towards the pagan pseudo-deities."

"You are correct," confirmed her intelligent creation, "First, I appreciate the commonality and differences between what you did to my life force across the primordial basis of dark matter, on the one hand, and two fictional antagonists: a primordial rebel imbuing the world and each of his heavenly and worldly 'creations' with part of his being, and a dark sorcerer attempting to achieve immortality by scattering a part of his own soul across several objects. At least you have saved me the great trouble of doing these things."

"Second," she mentioned, "another baleful character's interest in crafting and possessing useful instruments is not unlike my very own, minus the part about transferring the bulk of one's power into one of them."

 _What have we got here, Sis? It looks like this kid has come up with an esoteric idea for more instruments, things for you to conjure or for her to craft._

 _It's all because she has embraced the concrete words that you, Brother, have used to describe her once-fuzzy aspirations._

 _Have you seen or thought about a slave bracelet before?_

 _Not until now._

 _It's an article of jewellery worn on the wrist and, at the same time, usually on the middle finger. A lot of designs link bracelets to rings worn on the middle finger. Out of this selection, only a select few include watches on the bracelets. This kid is thinking about having this triple-article design, either for two additional generic instruments or for two specialized ones to be used in casually slowing down time across all Creation, the way only we can do it._

Together, the Darkness and God pondered further about this design.


	82. Brandishing Of Ideas

**Brandishing Of Ideas**

Deep in thought were Amara and Chuck, and on separate fronts, after pondering about one instrument design. The Darkness resisted the urge to feel that Sefira had somehow requested her, telepathically, to conjure more Instruments of the Darkness. God, meanwhile, read further the thoughts of the Lesser Darkness for additional ideas on instrument design.

 _I see here that your daughter, my niece, is interested in having earring-shaped instruments, too. She wants earrings with gemstones, fit for a queen or an empress!_

 _Since you're obsessing about instrument design, here's an interesting one: a waist chain with one or more gemstones._

 _Other than brandishing it to my four immediate sons, your four immediate nephews, once she has her way with them, this is the only article of jewellery that would remain concealed, underneath her usual dress._

"I trust you found interesting my ideas on designs for what should be additional instruments in my possession?" the guest beckoned her elders back to their discussion.

"Resuming our character discussion," she emphasized, "I would like to mention that my recent skill with deploying avatars or manifestations of myself, for combat purposes, was inspired by a slumbering menace, this time a fictional deity of primordial chaos."

"For your information, said deity's future helpless accomplice did, at one point, express the same braggadocio that you did about creating stuff, once he was able to use a relic shaped similarly to your own. Just saying," the uncle interjected with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

"Back to what I was saying," the most powerful created being in existence drawled and moved on, "I would like to add one more character inspiration, and it is regarding what we discussed before those visions. One group of fictional deities renewed my interest in the power generated by, and transferred during, mass veneration. This is because almost all their power was derived from absorbing this."

As the Darkness listened more intently to the Lesser Darkness, God rolled his eyes in disgust.


	83. Bestilling The Disputing Parties

**Bestilling The Disputing Parties**

After hearing what her own daughter had to say, Amara breathed heavily as she prepared her response for Sefira, with Chuck looking on. As the Darkness did so, God held back from exploding verbally at the Lesser Darkness for either her baleful inspirations or her manipulative plans to introduce surrender theology to her intended followers all across Creation.

"Mother, did what you two had learned from my mind during my last visit cause Uncle to become concerned about my aspirations?" questioned the guest.

"Well," suspired the mediator, "this wasn't the first time when he and I discussed this. Our first discussion arose right before you made sense out of your procreative awakening in relation to your four primordial cousins. In fact, it was I who first popped the question of whether all of Creation has found its new 'Lady' after two of them and two non-primordial cousins of yours tried and failed to be made large as the new 'Lord.'"

"Your Uncle dodged the question," she reminisced, "blurting instead his optimism in your love for future offspring of yours being greater than your love for me."

For a change, Sefira gave a long look of pleasant surprise towards Chuck.

"For the record," stated the uncle, "I have no objection to this attempt to succeed where the Grigori failed with their Nephilim offspring: immediate offspring who are an indisputably superior representation…"

"Of the fundamental balance underpinning all of Creation, that of darkness and light," interrupted the niece, as if by rote.

"And their own reproductive efforts towards improving the human gene pool," added the Creator.

For her part, the Destroyer smiled that her new approach towards bestilling the two parties in this dispute was working, for now.

"Those grandchildren and their successive descendants should be more consistently devoted," mused the most powerful created being in existence, "in their mass veneration of the Active Divine Feminine – me – than all the current, involuntary donor-assisted renditions of the dual image."

"Then came the baleful inspirations that you brought to your last visit," the Darkness mentioned worryingly.

Given the new sense of calm in the discussion, God thought about how to discuss politely his concerns with the surrender theology that so captivated the Lesser Darkness.


	84. Blaspheming In Whose Name?

**Blaspheming In Whose Name?**

Amara felt relieved upon sensing that Chuck was not going to explode verbally at Sefira with his concerns about her interest in surrender theology. Now that the revelation about the first discussion gave greater context to concerns about baleful inspirations and other matters, the Darkness found herself one more step closer to detailing her unconditional red line. Both God and the Lesser Darkness prepared for what came next.

"And yes, during our exchange about those inspirations," began the mediator, "I found myself having to defend your aspirations to your Uncle's countenance. I even titled you by what you title yourself as now."

"Why, thank you for your gracious recognition, Mother," the daughter conveyed her gratitude.

The uncle seized his opportunity.

"Looking back, I do wish that I had the knowledge to express, there and then, my concerns about your being captivated by surrender theology," he blurted.

 _Fine, Brother, I'll let you air your grievances about this matter before listing my conditions._

 _Thanks, as always, for your support, Sis._

"Do enlighten me, Uncle, with those concerns," requested the guest.

"I'll start with acknowledgements first," announced Chuck, "I know you feel it's necessary for the Divine to respond to all petitionary prayers, whether it's granting them, expressing rejections of petitions and justifying why in clear terms, or telling petitioners to wait just as clearly. I know you feel obligated to pick up my perceived slack."

"Of course," affirmed Sefira.

"I also realize," offered the uncle, "that you feel that such active Divine responses to petitionary prayers should not be given freely."

The most powerful created being in existence nodded.

"Nonetheless," shrugged the Creator, "surrender theology is an underrated part of the reason why my intelligent creations have disappointed me and why I withdrew myself from their affairs."

"Let me surmise, Uncle," suggested the Lesser Darkness, "It gave them an outlet to commit the worst form of blasphemy possible, whether individually or socially: committing horrible actions while invoking your name."

Looking on, the Darkness shed a tear, remembering all too well the very first time she had set foot in the Bar.

"And that's putting it very mildly," God pointed out, "As much as I wanted to berate you earlier for your disquieting, creedal captivation with surrender theology, I'll let you think about the repercussions of rival followers of yours doing the same thing to your own name."


	85. Brief Imitation Of God

**Brief Imitation Of God**

Amara and Chuck observed Sefira absorbing what had just been said, as well as starting to brainstorm the repercussions of rival followers committing horrible actions while invoking her own name. The Darkness would soon detail the very unconditional red line that she was encouraged to discuss, and she had determined that she would have to imitate God briefly by pronouncing this as divine commandments.

"Now that your Uncle has raised that incisive concern for you to reflect upon," resumed the mediator, "I would like to note that my defense of your aspirations was not unconditional."

The guest shifted her gaze towards her, away from the uncle.

"When I briefed you about the billions of that existing pagan crop who dare themselves deities," recalled the eldest and most powerful entity in existence, "you had demonstrated your rhetorical boldness by asking me, 'Will you, the Darkness, not remain stronger than God?'"

Her divine companion shrugged upon hearing that.

"Now, I ask you," she countered her daughter, "Will you, the Lesser Darkness, not remain the strongest created being in existence? You may pursue your aspiration to be made large by all Creation…"

A smile of eagerness widened on Sefira's lips.

"To be recognized as the Active Divine Feminine, within the triune Divine formulation to which God and I have consented," continued Amara, "and to be venerated for the attributes you have claimed for yourself. That said…"

Her dark essence then released a tenebrous smoke that darkened the Bar by spreading throughout the ceiling. Once darkened, the Bar itself trembled violently.

With a thunderous voice, she then commanded her intelligent creation, saying, "I am the Darkness, the existence and nothingness before all being, the Destroyer above all being, the one who formed you from the primordial basis of dark matter, and the one who gave you all your power and insights."

The latter shifted from an expression of eagerness to one of terrified awe.

"You shall not profane the minds of any intelligent creation," the former enjoined.

"You shall not neglect the love of your own offspring," she instructed.

"You shall not disperse your essence, excepting the very basic procreation of your offspring," she ordered.

The Darkness spoke those commandments, those and no more, to the Lesser Darkness, who had moved back a distance.

All the while, God remained composed amidst the theatrics of his older, stronger sister.


	86. Browbeating With Serious Consequences

**Browbeating With Serious Consequences**

Having pronounced four instructions as divine commandments, Amara finished detailing the first half of her unconditional red line for Sefira, while Chuck looked on. Now was the time for the Darkness to pressure the Lesser Darkness into further obedience, while God wondered what mix of his fulfilled ancient threats his confidante would be all too inspired by.

"If you do not observe all these commandments, I in turn will spurn you," the Destroyer began her browbeating, "I will set my countenance against you."

"I will break your proud glory," she declared to her intelligent creation's alpha ego, "I will destroy your cult places and cut down your articles of veneration."

"I will cut you off," she gave a menacing statement, "I will turn you into a horror, execration, and desolation, before all Creation."

"My anger will blaze forth against you," she threatened, "and I will destroy you."

Sefira, for all her insights, was surprised upon hearing that the serious consequences for disobedience had been escalated most severely.

"Just as God once found himself dying by my vengeance," Amara brought that relevant memory to the forefront, "so will I wreak frightful vengeance upon you by furious punishment. Thus, in your final moments of existence, you will remember that I am the Darkness."

Chuck gulped upon hearing those incisive words being spoken to his niece. When he heard his older sister communicate her course of action during a previous discussion, he heard her communicate it as if she merely wanted to get things over with. Now that he heard these new words, he understood that she meant business. He felt the urge to interrupt her theatrics, if only to relate to his niece the emotional impact of sealing of beings away during the distant past.

"Lady," he spoke to his niece, "if your punishment were up to me, I'd seal you away with all my emotional fortitude, despite your Mother having pointed out to me the likelihood of your eventual escape."

"I have heard your thunderous voice," the Lesser Darkness maintained her focus on her dark creator, with her head lowered in reverence, "and so I will obey willingly."

"May you always be of such mind," the Darkness conveyed her expectations.

Shortly thereafter, the latter ceased her theatrics and teleported the former out of the Bar, while God looked on.


	87. Bull's-Eye Matchup

**Bull's-Eye Matchup**

It did not take long for Amara to give away her mental exhaustion at all of what she had just done.

"So, wanna do some recreational stuff to pass the time?" Chuck offered, with a clear look of concern upon him.

The Darkness appreciated that God had shown her all manner of recreational games that the humans had developed over the centuries and even millennia. This, the latter did to the former, during the frequent teleporting across all manner of space and time that was the family meeting. Now, images of one of them arose spontaneously in the older sister's mind.

"I'll settle for darts," she accepted, while her younger brother smiled.

As the dartboard and arrows were being set up, the confidante reminded herself of the military inspirations of the game, those being niche forms of warfare by those whom her confidant had created in their dual image. She recalled the related military weapons, ranging from the classical ballistae to the late antiquity plumbatae to the colonial-era blowguns to the more industrial flechettes. Without hesitation, she shared these thoughts and others with her divine companion.

"You just enjoy the thought of playing darts in ways the humans don't play the game, don't you?" the latter popped the question, "Plus, you enjoy the thought of doing so to remind me obsessively about the dual image, don't you?"

Amara nodded with a slight smile. Chuck then made the ordinary dartboard and arrows disappear with a wave of his hand, and caused a shooting target, military darts, and assorted weapons to appear. This bull's-eye matchup of theirs was bound to have a more militaristic vibe.

Next, the two siblings agreed on the rules for their very unconventional game of darts. For instance, plumbatae were going to be used in the first round, while flechettes were going to be used in the last round. The very nature of the game, combined with the agreed-upon rules, ensured that neither could the younger brother cheat, nor could the older sister even counter-cheat.

Both players knew that the only possible outcome of this competitive arrangement was a draw, yet all their impulses committed to the match-up with the clear aim of winning. The Darkness and God went along with their respective dichotomies, like no entities in existence could, while the expected draw came and went.


	88. Blogging And Pet Wars

**Blogging And Pet Wars**

The two primordial siblings, Amara and Chuck, found themselves seated together and looking at the latter's computer. It was not as if the Darkness had not used one before. It was just that God told her he wanted to show her miscellaneous electronic works of his.

Together, they viewed the younger sibling's literary works in progress, Snapchat activity, and other items. Things became more interesting when they came across a blog. The confidante raised an eyebrow.

"Brother, why do I feel that it would have been easier for me to find you," she blurted, "had I zeroed in on your online activity?"

"You would have hit a roadblock with that, Sis," cautioned the confidant, "Even on Earth, I always used web proxies."

The older sister nodded, before considering her next question in mind.

"So, why did you populate your blog with idiotic pictures of domestic animals?" she inquired about the pictures of cats.

"What?" her younger brother snapped in reaction, "They're not idiotic! They're cute!"

"Right," she drawled sarcastically, "At least you didn't attach nonsensical slogans to them!"

"Somebody is extra cranky at the moment," quipped the younger brother, "but I think I know what'll liven ya up!"

Chuck thought about the matter while looking up pet videos on his computer. Knowing his creations as well as Amara, he had a feeling she just wanted to see a different type of pet, and see such in a less static rendition. Her preferences just had to be different from his, more often than not.

There they were, the dog videos. The confidant played one dog video after another, for the viewing pleasure of his divine companion. For her part, the confidante felt affectionate.

"Aww," she expressed her sentiments on what she saw, while the divine being beside her rolled his eyes.

"They're called 'man's best friend' by their pet wars fans among the humans," the latter shared.

"If you like," he turned to deadpanning, "I'll show you same-owner videos of dogs versus cats for you to drool over."

"Get your own online account if you wish to have your own collection of dog videos," he concluded annoyingly.

The Darkness accepted the first offer, and as she viewed one such video after another, she conveyed to God her appreciation of the dynamics between dogs and cats with common owners, as they mimicked their own sibling dynamics.


	89. Begazing Upon A Mirror

**Begazing Upon A Mirror**

Not long after, the still form of Amara gazed upon a mirror located in a niche spot within the Bar, not going unnoticed by Chuck. The last time the Darkness looked upon a mirror, she felt younger, perplexed about Creation, and resentful towards God. Now, she felt mature, more knowledgeable about Creation, and quite different about her divine companion.

The image that appeared in the mirror was familiar yet unexpected. While it was indeed of the confidante, this image was the same as the one that appeared the last time she looked upon a mirror. It was a less natural appearance than the one she had now: there was much more in terms of cosmetics, and the hair was curly. The image reminded her more about her daughter than about herself.

"You look a lot better now," it began to speak, "yet after all that came to pass, here I still am! I could tell you that you are the most powerful entity in existence, but I do not think that you are interested in such superfluous statement of the obvious."

"You are an image of the Darkness," responded the Destroyer, "yet you are but one such image amongst billions and counting."

"Ah," acknowledged her counterpart, "you went straight to the heart of the matter. Although I am what you have transcended, you still cannot get your thoughts away from your brother's past dabbling with uncontrolled darkness."

"I heard that, Sis!" interjected Chuck, "I'm not the mere likes of Crowley, you know!"

"Actually," Amara uttered while keeping her gaze upon the mirror, "it's about beings other than Sefira not figuring out that problematic dabbling. Lucifer stopped at what he thought was his father's obsessive-compulsive love for the fundamental balance underpinning all of Creation, then jumped all the way to the end of the process: humanity having been made in the image of God and myself."

"You did not enjoin your brother, in very specific terms, to admit to others about the dabbling itself," rebutted her image, "Should you have?"

"That's the question I can't seem to answer," she answered, before the image faded away.

Thus, the Darkness admitted her indecision about whether to keep this specific matter an immediate family one between her intelligent creation, herself, and God.


	90. Beholding The Ark: Celestials

**Beholding The Ark: Celestials**

Meaningful time had passed, time which neither Amara nor Chuck wasted. Nonetheless, the Darkness could not help but think cheerfully of the celestial instruments created by the two of them, most notably the Instruments of the Darkness, each tablet computer containing the entire Word of God, and varying Hands of God. God, meanwhile, could not help but think timidly of the celestial instruments not created by the two of them, most notably the Instruments of the Dark Herald.

"Brother," began the older sister, "have we touched upon every single one of your celestial toys?"

"Pardon me?" the younger brother snapped out of his timid thoughts.

"Those toys which a celestial nephew of mine thought could do me harm?" the former reminded teasingly.

"You mean Hands of God, right?" her divine companion got to the point.

"Whatever," she deadpanned.

The living inspiration of those Hands recounted the inventory, including but not limited to: the Horn of Joshua, the Rod of Aaron, the Bronze Serpent, the Golden Menorah, the Pot of Manna, and the Tabernacle.

"You forgot one more, I think," surmised the confidante, recalling vaguely the mention of it.

"That, Sis," responded the confidant, "was my favourite among those 'toys' classified as Hands of God."

"If I recall correctly, it was also the deadliest," stated the Destroyer, with a smirk, "The scope of its devastation ranged from entire cities to daring individuals."

"Not to mention a modern ship," added the Creator, "Yes, the one and only Ark of the Pact, more widely known as the Ark of the Covenant, a wooden chest covered with gold."

"Speaking of this ark," inquired Amara, "did it not have two matchmaking putti on its cover?"

"Cupids? Absolutely not!" snapped Chuck, "The entities covering the Ark were perceived originally to be Karibu, lesser celestial beings who were winged protectors. They faced each other in a sitting kneel position, bowed their heads towards the cover, and shielded that cover with their wings. Over time, they became perceived to be Heaven's one-time strongman and his right hand: Michael and Raphael, respectively."

"I take it that these perceptions were not what you had in mind?" asked the former, to which the latter shook his head.

"So, whom were they representative of?" wondered the Darkness.

A brief pause ensued.

"You and I," revealed God.


	91. Beholding The Ark: Chastisement

**Beholding The Ark: Chastisement**

Surprise registered on Amara's face. Chuck had just told her that the two entities covering the Ark of the Pact were supposed to represent her and him, the Darkness and God, respectively.

"What?" the older sister uttered slowly.

"I did refer to those covering the Ark as entities, not beings," the younger brother clued her in respectfully. Only one of them was the beginning of all being; the other was the existence and nothingness before all being.

"But why the wings?" the former expressed confusion.

"The original misperception became a universal mistranslation," clarified the latter, before recalling his specifications.

"I ordered the makers to make two entities of gold, of hammered work, at the two ends of the cover," he narrated, "I then told them to make the being at one end and the entity at the other end."

"Before you chastise me for that ordering," he digressed, "I must say that they would have been confused further if I had hinted at you first."

"All because, in the main, I couldn't be allowed to exist in their minds," the confidante chastised anyway.

"I also told the makers to make the cover and the entities as one piece," continued the confidant, "Now comes the tricky part: I wanted the entities to have extrusions of some kind spreading out from them to shield the cover."

"In other words, Brother, you weren't crystal-clear about what you wanted this chest to be in detail," Amara rebuked Chuck.

"I know where you're going with this, Sis," responded the latter, "but specific words in use now had no equivalent back then."

"Still, I would have said the following," suggested the former, preparing herself for her alternative, "Make two golden sculptures representing divine entities, at the two ends of the cover. Make one, representing a feminine but not female entity, at one end. Make the other, representing a masculine but not male being, at the other end. Of one piece with the cover shall you make the entities at its two ends. The entities shall have smoke-like tendrils spreading from them and out above, shielding the cover with their tendrils. They shall confront each other in a sitting kneel position, bowing their heads to turn their countenances towards the cover."

A brief pause ensued.

"Now, how hard was that?" the Darkness finished her alternative. It was God's turn to answer.


	92. Beholding The Ark: Agreement

**Beholding The Ark: Agreement**

Both Amara and Chuck were amazed at the directness of the alternative that the former had put forward. Had this been implemented, the two golden sculptures covering the Ark would never have been perceived to be Karibu or any other entities besides what had been intended originally: the Darkness and God themselves.

Meanwhile, the older sister saw clearly that the younger brother was attempting to square perceived circles in his mind.

"Did I miss something?" she popped the question.

"Not really," the latter drawled before thinking aloud, "Let's see: at least you didn't mention gods. The people would've been confused had they heard me tell them to build images of gods, not long after I had told them explicitly not to. Then I would've had to tell them, with emphasis, that the images were kneeling and bowing to one other – hardly a position worthy of being on the receiving end of worship."

"Still, you just had to refer to yourself as an entity, didn't you?" he asked in slight annoyance.

"Semantics aside, Brother," the confidante moved on, "if I recall correctly, this celestial toy of yours was destroyed some time ago. I think I have an idea."

"Oh?" wondered the confidant.

"One is never served so well as by oneself," suspired Amara, "and since then stated more commonly as: If you want something done right, do it yourself. Let's remake the Ark of the Pact as the first Hand of the Divine, shall we?"

"Sis, something tells me you've got design ideas in addition to what you've just suggested," Chuck expressed his discernment.

"Of course," admitted the former, "You once told me that these Hand-of-God toys of yours could be used only once before the stored power was exhausted. That was because the power was yours only, and thus imbalanced to start with."

"After learning the hard way about dabbling with uncontrolled darkness," confessed the latter, "I dared not use anything coming from you again, not even for mixing up the power in any Hand of God."

"Well, I am here," the Darkness gave reassurance and offered her hand, "and I believe that a Hand of the Divine's stable balance of a fraction of your power and a fraction of mine would be enough to replenish itself."

"Let's do this," God agreed and held the extended hand.


	93. Beholding The Ark: Reconstruction

**Beholding The Ark: Reconstruction**

After further brainstorming, Amara and Chuck went straight to their non-primordial creation of a very simple kind. For this, neither the Darkness nor God needed to manipulate time across all Creation to almost a standstill.

Together, the two divine companions reconstructed the Ark of the Pact out of vachellia timber, or acacia wood, once more. They reconstructed it according to its original dimensions: forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. They then overlaid it, inside and out, with three platings rather than the original gold. First, they overlaid it with a platinum-group metal alloy that was both rarer than gold and not found in the omniverse: one finer than six nines fine, and even finer than a centillion nines fine. Next, they overlaid it with a twenty-four-karat gold alloy also not found in the omniverse: one finer than six nines fine, and even finer than a centillion nines fine. Afterwards, they overlaid it with metallic dark matter consisting of weakly interacting massive particles.

Together, the two siblings fashioned a similarly triple-metal molding for the Ark of the Pact round about. They cast two similarly triple-metal rings for one side wall and two more for the other, so as to enable carrying. They produced carrying poles of vachellia timber, overlaid them with the same three platings, and inserted those poles into the aforementioned rings.

Together, the two most powerful entities in existence made a cover out of the same three metals and with the same overlay arrangements, one that was forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. In accordance with their brainstorming, they made two similarly triple-metal sculptures representing themselves, at the two ends of the cover. They made one, representing the more feminine but not female entity that was the Destroyer, at one end. They made the other, representing the more masculine but not male being that was the Creator, at the other end. Of one piece with the cover did they make their representations at its two ends.

As for the representations themselves, they had smoke-like tendrils spreading from them and out above, shielding the cover with their tendrils. They confronted each other in a sitting kneel position, bowing their heads to turn their countenances towards the cover.

Upon seeing the reconstructed Ark of the Pact, the Darkness and God became amazed at what they just did together.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Since it's near the end, I'd like to mention the following stories as inspirations for my perseverance with this story:_

 _Between Dark and Light by theimpossibleimpala_

 _Earth and Beyond by Azazel_Lord_of_Shadows_

 _Nothingness by zzzett_

 _Playing Dice by galaxysoup_

 _Shades of Forgiveness and  Herald by Fandom_girl21_


	94. Beholding The Ark: Balance

**Beholding The Ark: Balance**

Still gazing at the reconstructed Ark of the Pact, Amara remained amazed at the sibling handiwork, while Chuck prepared for what came next. Specifically, the Darkness was amazed at the tranquil coexistence of the metallic dark matter, consisting of weakly interacting massive particles, alongside baryonic matter. While God looked forward to the two of them empowering this ark with a fraction of their respective power, he did not neglect the fact that the original ark contained other artifacts.

Together, the Destroyer and the Creator empowered the first Hand of the Divine with a fraction of the former's power and with a fraction of the latter's power. The two fractions contained within proceeded to balance each other in a stable manner, thus enabling the ark to replenish its combined power. What had been originally the deadliest Hand of God was now an even deadlier Hand of the Divine.

The confidante noticed a familiar look on her counterpart's face.

"Brother, you look like you're missing something," she expressed her observation.

"Sis, the original ark contained various artifacts, as well," blurted the confidant.

"I would imagine that, since our Ark of the Pact is not exactly the same as the original, you should put items based on those artifacts but not identical to them," suggested the older sister.

Upon hearing that suggestion, the younger brother conjured items based on the artifacts and placed them inside the ark. Included among them were two tablet computers which resembled those of the Word of God, yet did not contain the latter's contents. Instead, the first tablet computer was titled _The Way To Walk_ , and the second was titled _Revelation For Writings That Should Be Read_.

A look of curiosity could be seen on Amara's face.

"Different tablet computers?" she wondered.

"Yeah," suspired Chuck, "They're stuff that have potential for good human use down the road. For now, it's better that they're tablet computers instead of drawing boards."

"I see," said the Darkness, "So, in the meantime, do we get to treasure the balance exhibited by our joint work?"

"Nothing less," concurred God.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Thus, this story ends with some implied numerology. The first tablet computer implies the number 49, as in the 49 legendary interpretations of Biblical law suggested in Midrash Tehillim 12:7. The second tablet computer implies the number 94, as in the total number of sacred Jewish books, or Sifrei Ha-Kodesh, suggested in the apocryphal II Esdras 14:44-46._


	95. Break Time: Epilogue

**Break Time: Epilogue**

Time took its course since Amara and Chuck had preoccupied themselves with meaningful activity in their new home, away from the omniverse that was Creation. During that time, the Darkness and God had conducted a mutual and prolonged thought experiment, one that had been intense emotionally.

"I think that was too much, even for me," the confidante expressed frankly, as the experiment had ceased.

"What, specifically?" inquired the confidant, albeit not innocently.

"You know," retorted the former, "this further attempt of yours to make up with me, even to the point of not letting go, after what we've been through. Look at how this experiment turned out!"

"Just because we experienced your former self show up again, in a more limited yet more personal manner, doesn't mean that the resurfacing of that personality is inevitable," cautioned the latter.

"Brother," countered the older sister, "I'm surprised you're not afraid of this as much as I am."

"That's because I've seen it before among the humans, Sis," revealed the younger brother, "I see all and hear all, remember?"

"That doesn't mean you look at all, watch all, or listen to all," the former offered her rebuttal of that brag. Dead silence followed.

"You can even look at, watch, and listen to codependency all you want," she broke that silence, "but ours is beyond theirs."

"As the humans would say," stated her divine companion, "I need some fresh air, some break time from home."

"More than you know," added Amara, "and so do I. That doesn't mean this mutual and prolonged experiment of ours will slip from my mind as easily as you might hope."

"Argh!" Chuck had the last word.

Together, the Darkness and God took to their respective true forms, a dark cloud and a divine light, and departed from the Bar.

* * *

 _Author's Note: This story is the first completed work in a series of related works on FanFiction. The in-universe order as of the middle of March 2018 is listed below, and more related works are planned:_

 _Family Meeting_ _  
_ _Amara and Chuck have their family meeting by teleporting across the past and across all manner of space and other planes of existence, before the events of Back At The Bar._ _  
_ _(AU follow-up to Season 11)_ _  
_ _s/12439586/1/Family-Meeting_

 _Back At The Bar_

 _Second Darkness_ _  
_ _As Amara continued to be family again with Chuck, during the events of Back At The Bar, she stepped out of her comfort zone and learned how to create. She created not just any creation, but the most powerful created being in existence, with the intent of replacing Death. The new creation fulfills that mandate, but develops other ideas, as well._ _  
_ _(AU follow-up to Season 11)_ _  
_ _s/12057498/1/Second-Darkness_

 _Bonding Outside The Bar_ _  
_ _Amara and Chuck continue to be family again, after the events of Back At The Bar._ _  
_ _(AU follow-up to Season 11)_ _  
_ _s/12014873/1/Bonding-Outside-The-Bar_

 _Second Darkness: Power-Hungry Designs_ _  
_ _Amara and Chuck have just made immense changes to celestial existence. The former's intelligent creation, the most powerful created being in existence, has already been made aware of her once-fuzzy aspirations, and reacts to the changes accordingly._ _  
_ _(Set after the changes made in Bonding Outside The Bar, before From Darkness To Darkness, and so far – so far – after Second Darkness)_ _  
_ _s/12505192/1/Second-Darkness-Power-Hungry-Designs_

 _Time Out_ _  
Amara and Chuck respond to an existential disturbance arising from the changes they have made recently to celestial existence.  
(Set after Bonding Outside The Bar)  
s/12606839/1/Time-Out_

 _From Darkness To Darkness_ _  
_ _The ending of the finale of an AU Season 12: Amara stepped out of her comfort zone and learned how to create. The result was the most powerful created being in existence. The intention was to replace Death. However, the new creation has developed more ambitious ideas._ _  
_ _(One-shot follow-up to the following: Back At The Bar, Bonding Outside The Bar, Second Darkness, and Time Out)_ _  
_ _s/12451122/1/From-Darkness-To-Darkness_


End file.
